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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, SPORT AND CULTURE BY DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 29th MAY 2012
Question
Will the Minister advise whether any of the 582 Education, Sport and Culture (ESC) employees on zero-hours contracts are, like those at the Social Security department, actually employed by agencies and thus do not form part of FTE headcount and, if so, how many?
Will he provide a breakdown of the numbers of zero hours contracts by job types within ESC?
Will he further state whether teaching assistants are employed on zero hours contacts and, if so, how many and under what circumstances?
Does the Minister consider that for the most part teaching assistants should be on fixed-term or permanent contracts with defined hours to deliver consistent support in the classroom?
Will he further assure members that zero-hours contracts are not used to cover for predictable absence of teaching staff, such as maternity leave?
Will he also state how many zero hours contracts involve Highlands College lecturers (apart from Adult Education tutors) and what circumstances would justify this?
Answer
All of the 582 employees on zero hours contracts and currently on payroll are employed by the States Employment Board through the Education, Sport and Culture Department and not through agencies. These contracts are not included in the FTE or headcount figures as work is not guaranteed.
The breakdown of numbers is as follows:
Job Type | Number |
Civil Servant Non teaching supply (includes primary and secondary Teaching Assistant, Lunch Supervision, Special Needs Key Worker, Library Assistant, administration and secretarial cover) | 172 |
Manual Worker Non teaching supply (includes relief cleaners, caretakers and Leisure Assistants) | 26 |
Teaching supply primary and secondary | 126 |
Sessional Youth Workers | 63 |
Visiting Lecturers and Adult Education | 195 |
Individuals employed in a non teaching supply role are contracted to work in more than one job type. For example an individual may work as a lunch supervisor, a teaching assistant and/or a key worker in different schools.
Civil Service non teaching supply includes all individuals working as Teaching Assistants. This group are employed on zero hours contracts to ensure appropriately vetted and skilled staff are available to cover staff absence and meet changing demands for support staff due to fluctuating pupil numbers and the special need requirements of individual cohorts. The flexibility this allows is necessary to ensure the service can react to the differing needs of individual pupils as they move through the service.
Maternity leave is a predictable absence. In the majority of cases such absence would be covered by staff employed on fixed term contracts.
Highlands College employs staff on zero hours contracts to allow it to maintain the flexibility required to meet fluctuating demands in student numbers, subject choices and the individual needs of students in both further and higher education. A review of the use of employment contracts at Highlands is currently underway to ensure best practice. It is however envisaged that the majority of visiting lecturers will remain on zero hours appointments to allow the ongoing flexibility the College requires.