A mean-spirited cheque

27th February 2004, 12:00am

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A mean-spirited cheque

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/mean-spirited-cheque
I had a temporary contract that paid me up until December 31 last year. I began another one-term contract in January with another authority. I have just found out that I have been paid in my latest job from January 5, which means that my pay for that month was four days short, even though I could not have worked on those four days. I thought pay was spread evenly across the 12 months. Must I lose pay if I move from one authority to another?

You are paid from the start of your contract. This looks like a device to save money for the school, and is mean-spirited. Whether this is illegal will depend on whether you are treated differently from other teachers. I can’t image that anyone who changed schools within the same authority would accept a break in service and the loss of four days’ pay, even though they would be paid by a different school. If it does not apply to them, why should it to you since, as you point out, you were available for service from January 1? Contact your professional association and find out whether this is common practice in your authority.

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