Private schools oppose right to disconnect for teachers

Private schools want teachers to keep working at weekends and chaperoning overseas trips as they push to limit a new right to disconnect being considered by the Fair Work Commission.

Independent school associations representing some of the country’s most elite schools, including Sydney’s SCEGGS Darlinghurst and Melbourne’s Scotch College, have urged the industrial umpire to retain the flexibility they say they need from teaching staff to run co-curricular and other activities.

The state associations’ joint submission was made to the commission’s review of modern awards requested by Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke last year.

The teachers’ award states employees work a maximum of 205 days over a 12-month period, with some carve-outs for tasks such as supervising weekend sports and school trips, and boarding house responsibilities.

The associations’ submission asks for “the retention of flexibility”, which a spokesperson from the Association of Independent Schools of NSW said had been a long-standing practice in teaching.

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“For decades, independent school teachers have performed work outside of normal school hours such as supervising co-curricular activities, attending overnight school trips or providing pastoral care in the event of a school tragedy,” they said.

The Association of Independent Schools of South Australia, Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia, Independent Schools Queensland, Independent Schools Tasmania and Independent Schools Victoria are the other groups behind the submission.

In February, laws were passed as part of Burke’s Closing Loopholes industrial reforms that will allow workers to take their bosses to the Fair Work Commission to stop being harassed after hours. Employers could incur fines or even criminal sanctions if they continue to make unreasonable contact, while employees will be barred from “vexatious” use of their new right.