This document discusses the role and benefits of education unions. It begins by explaining that education unions represent educators and work to improve conditions in the education system. It then lists the types of educators that unions can support, such as teachers, tutors, and childcare providers. The document goes on to discuss common issues educators face, like disciplinary problems, early retirement pressures, changes due to school conversions, and discrimination. It explains that unions can help by providing legal advice, representation, and investigating problems on members' behalf. In the end, it encourages joining the union to gain support in the education profession.
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Unions are organisations that negotiate on behalf of their members to support better
working conditions. Teacher’s unions or education unions have likewise been around for
decades to better represent the interests of those working in the educational sector. The aim
of an education union is to help educators improve how the education system functions.
In this article, we’ll be looking at how education unions can achieve this and what is it
precisely that they can do for workers.
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Who is an Education Union for?
Education unions are for everyone passionate about education. Education unions can
service a wide variety of roles within the education and early years sector, such as:
Early Years and Childcare providers
Heads, teachers and school leaders
Teachers and Tutors
On-site support Staff
Vocational students
Newly Qualified Teachers
Nannies
Common Issues Educators Face
The retention rate of teachers in the UK is gradually decreasing. From 2010 to 2019
retention rate fell from 86.5% to 84.5% for those with just one year of service. This figure
increases exponentially for those who have been teachers for longer durations of time.
What is the cause of this drop? Common problems educators may face can relate to:
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Disciplinary issues: This is related to how policy is implemented in an education
setting. Unclear policies or unwarranted discipline tactics come from problems associated
with the management of education policy. They may occur at the level of the teaching
setting or at a governmental level. A factor in these determinations may also be related to
how staff competencies are assessed and how staff are hired.
Early retirement: The current laws in the UK prohibit a person from being forced into
early retirement. A person may continue to work past the age of 65 if they choose.
However, if an employer forces retirement, they must provide a valid reason as to why.
Some educators can come up against this situation and must defend their ability to work.
TUPE: TUPE refers to Transfer of Undertakings in Protection of Employment. A
regulation stipulates when an education provider is taken over by a new company, such as
during conversion to academy status, that staff members should automatically transfer
over their contract. For example, educators may find that their role/position has been
drastically altered by the change and no longer perform their job correctly.
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Discrimination and unfair dismissal: UK legislation protects workers against dismissal
based on discriminatory factors such as age, gender and ethnicity. However, gathering
evidence to support an unfair dismissal claim may be necessary for an employer to be held
liable.
What Do Educations Unions Do?
An education union can protect educators from these problems. They can offer legal
advice, represent members in front of a board and conduct investigations on people’s
behalf. When difficult situations occur, sometimes workers need someone to fight in their
corner. That is the benefit of a union - a sense of support and community so educators can
keep doing the job they love.
To find out more about what a union can do for you, consider joining our community.
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