This article describes the framework for the pay and conditions of service for classroom teachers in maintained schools in Wales and the main decision-making bodies involved. This framework cover teachers from their appointment as newly qualified teachers (NQTs) through to middle management roles. This article does not cover teachers in independent schools. Nor does it cover staff in independent and voluntary pre-school provision.

The pay and conditions for headteachers and deputy headteachers (known as the ‘leadership group’) are dealt with in the article on ‘Management Staff’.

The legal framework for the exercising of staffing functions such as conduct and discipline, capability, staff grievance, appointment, suspension, and dismissal of staff in schools staffing arrangements is provided by Sections 35 and 36 of the Education Act 2002 and The Staffing of Maintained Schools (Wales) Regulations (2006) and subsequent amendments.

Recruitment decisions and many other functions of the employer are undertaken by the school's governing body. For foundation schools and voluntary aided schools, the governing body is also the legal employer, while for community schools and voluntary controlled schools, the local authority is the legal employer.

The quality and status of the profession is supported through regulation by the Education Workforce Council (EWC), a Wales-specific independent body, established under the Education (Wales) Act 2014. Under this legislation, the General Teaching Council for Wales (GTCW) was reconfigured and renamed to become the EWC, which came into being on 1 April 2015. All those with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) wishing to teach in a maintained school in Wales must be registered with the EWC.

The EWC establishes and maintains the register of education practitioners; maintains a Code of Professional Conduct and Practice for the education workforce; investigates allegations of conduct that may call into question a teacher’s fitness to practise; monitors induction; and provides advice to Welsh Government on matters related to the education workforce for teaching and learning. The EWC’s principal aims are to:

• contribute to improving the standards of teaching and the quality of learning in Wales
• maintain and improve standards of professional conduct amongst teachers and persons who support teaching and learning in Wales
• safeguard the interests of learners, parents and the public and maintain public trust and confidence in the education workforce.

Other conditions of service, relating mainly to notice periods, sick leave and sick pay, and maternity leave and pay, are agreed on an England and Wales basis between the bodies representing the interests of teachers and the National Employers’ Organisation for School Teachers (NEOST). They are set out in the ‘Burgundy Book’.

The bodies representing the interests of teachers are:

• the National Education Union (NEU) (established following the merger of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) in September 2017)
• the National Association of Schoolmasters / Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT)
• Voice.

In September 2018, following the Wales Act 2017, the Welsh Government became responsible for setting teachers’ pay and conditions of service in Wales. Following a period of public consultation in 2018, a new Independent Welsh Pay Review Body was established in February 2019 to make recommendations to the Welsh Government on school teachers’ pay and conditions. Until September 2018, the Secretary of State for Education in the UK Government had the power to make provision for the determination of the pay and conditions for teachers in maintained schools in England and Wales, taking into account the recommendations of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB). This was carried out under Part 8 of the Education Act 2002.

Teachers are responsible for managing their own careers and recruitment is undertaken solely by schools. First appointment to a post and subsequent advancement depend on successfully competing for a vacancy. Promotion is determined by schools. There are no regulations in relation to teacher mobility and transfer; teachers are employed to work at a particular school and are only deployed elsewhere in the event of there being informal local arrangements.

Retirement arrangements are governed by UK employment law and by the arrangements for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) for teachers in England and Wales, which is administered by Teachers’ Pensions on behalf of the UK Government’s Department for Education.

The Welsh Government produces the School Governors’ Guide to the Law, which provides a comprehensive guide to the staffing responsibilities of the governing body of maintained schools and how these fit with the responsibilities of the headteacher and the local authority (chapter 10).

Planning Policy 

Allocation of initial teacher education places 

Each year, the Welsh Government (WG) sets ‘intake targets’ for recruitment to courses of initial teacher education (ITE) in Wales. These targets take account of estimated demand for new teachers in Wales. The targets for 2018/19 were set at 750 enrolments for primary phase education and 851 for secondary education.

As well as distinguishing between targets for primary and secondary level teacher training, targets are further divided into undergraduate and postgraduate training numbers (see ‘Institutions, level and models of training’ in the article on ‘Initial Education for Teachers’). Within the target numbers for secondary level teacher training, there are specific targets for particular subject areas. Further information on the intake targets for 2018/19, is available from the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW).

Teacher recruitment and retention 

The 2013 Hill report, The Future Delivery of Education Services in Wales, highlighted the need to align continuing professional development (CPD) with ITE; advocated a strengthened role for schools in ITE; and recommended increasing the employment- and school-based routes into teaching. Following these recommendations, the Teach First Cymru scheme was established in Wales from 2013 (see the article on ‘Initial Education’).  

Other reviews, including A Review of Initial Teacher Training in Wales by Professor Ralph Tabberer, which was published in July 2013, and Professor John Furlong’s March 2015 report, have recommended further measures to encourage recruitment to the profession; to strengthen the quality of ITE provision, including changes to the way providers work and the role played by schools; and closely monitor the impact of financial incentives on recruitment.

In 2017, the Welsh Government consulted on proposals to develop data collection on the school workforce in Wales and draft statutory regulations that would enable an individual level school workforce census. If introduced, the proposed changes would enhance the information currently collected, helping to better inform the recruitment, retention and development of the school workforce in Wales.

Initiatives to encourage teacher recruitment and retention 

Among the measures which the Welsh Government has introduced to ensure adequate teacher supply to meet demand are:

• providing training and tuition grants to attract graduates in subjects such as physics, mathematics, chemistry, modern foreign languages, ICT / computer sciences and Welsh
• providing grants to incentivise graduates with the best degrees to embark on initial teacher education (ITE)

Details of the training grant incentives for 2019/20 are available from the Welsh Government website.

Entry to the Profession 

Teachers are not civil servants. They apply for specific teaching posts through an open recruitment process.

The recruitment and appointment of teachers is subject to The Staffing of Maintained Schools (Wales) Regulations 2006, as amended, made under Sections 35 and 36 of the Education Act 2002. 

The school governing body is responsible for recruiting and selecting teaching staff, but recruitment can be delegated to the headteacher, one or more governors, or one or more governors and the headteacher. The governing body must agree clear terms of reference for recruitment and must draw up a specification for the post and send a copy to the local authority (LA). Vacancies must be advertised unless the governing body recommends an existing staff member for appointment, or accepts somebody nominated by the LA. In community schools and voluntary controlled schools, the LA has the right to attend selection meetings and to offer advice. The governing body must consider this advice before making a decision. In foundation schools and voluntary aided schools, the appropriate diocesan officer has the same advisory rights.

Applicants must be judged on their merits against the objective requirements for the job. The appointment process should be conducted in a fair and open manner that does not contravene the Equality Act 2010. This Act provides a single legal framework that seeks to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all, and prohibits unfair treatment in the workplace.

For community and voluntary controlled schools, the LA must appoint the person selected by the governing body. In foundation schools and voluntary aided schools, the governing body, as the employer, is responsible for the appointment of suitable applicants.

A person appointed to be a teacher must: 

• have Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) (there are a limited number of exceptions to this requirement, e.g. teachers undertaking the employment-based route into teaching when they are in the process of training)
• have the necessary health and physical and mental capacity for the post under The Education (Teachers' Qualifications and Health Standards) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2003
• be registered with the Education Workforce Council (EWC)
• is not subject to a prohibition order regarding unacceptable professional conduct or conduct which brings the profession into disrepute
• has not been convicted of a relevant criminal offence.

Safer recruitment measures 

The governing bodies of maintained schools have a duty to ensure that their functions are exercised with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of pupils. This duty is enshrined in the Education Act 2002. This means considering child protection and safeguarding issues at all stages of the recruitment process, as well as complying with specific checking requirements.

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) was established under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and combines the criminal record checks and barring functions of the former Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) respectively. It is responsible for making the enhanced DBS check required for appointment as a teacher.

Guidance on safer recruitment practice is provided by the Welsh Government.

Induction 

On appointment to a post as a teacher, all newly qualified teachers (NQTs) are required to serve an induction period of three school terms (i.e. an academic year), as set out in The Education (Induction Arrangements for School Teachers) (Wales) Regulations 2015. During the induction period, an NQT is employed in a paid post, with a reduced teaching timetable (90% of that of other teachers at the school). He or she receives support in the form of a personalised programme of development, involving professional dialogue, with monitoring and an assessment of performance against nationally set standards, Professional Standards for Teaching and Leadership (Welsh Government, 2017).

Overall responsibility for ensuring that induction meets statutory requirements lies with the ‘appropriate body’, which is normally the local authority. The headteacher of the school in which an induction period is being served is responsible for assigning a school-based mentor to provide day-to-day support. Each person serving an induction period in a school is also supported by an external mentor allocated by the relevant regional education consortium. From 1 September 2017, newly qualified teachers commencing induction have been required to upload their Career entry profile providing a summary of their initial teacher training, to their induction profile via the Professional Learning Passport on the Education Workforce Council (EWC) website.

The appropriate body has the overall statutory responsibility, working with the school-based mentor, external mentor and headteacher, for determining whether the NQT has passed, failed, or requires an extension to his / her induction. This is determined on the basis of a report from the external mentor, on observations by the school-based mentor and / or others as appropriate, and on formal assessments undertaken three times. At the end of induction, the external mentor recommends to the appropriate body whether the Professional Standards have been met. The appropriate body must then report its decision to the Education Workforce Council (EWC).

Unless induction is passed, an individual is not eligible for employment as a teacher in a maintained school.

Further information on induction is available on the Learning Wales website.

Professional status 

Teachers are public employees, but not civil servants. They are not guaranteed employment at any stage of their professional life, but must apply for specific posts.

Employment contracts 

Appointments may be made on a permanent (that is, open-ended) basis or on a fixed-term contract. UK employment and equality legislation applies.

A teacher’s contract of employment is with either the local authority (LA) or the school governing body, depending on the legal category of school. However, many of the functions of the employer are delegated to the school.

Professional standards 

Professional standards apply to all teachers regardless of their career stage, and define the minimum level of practice expected of teachers from the point of being awarded Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) onwards. They underpin the entire extent of teacher careers, from initial teacher education and training through everyday service and continuing professional development. They also serve as a guide for teachers and others (parents, pupils, and the general public) about the conduct that is expected.

The Professional Standards for Teaching and Leadership (2017)encourage practitioners who work with learners to exhibit high professional standards in their practice, whilst demonstrating key values and dispositions. The five standards cover the following areas:

• pedagogy
• collaboration
• innovation
• professional learning
• leadership.

These standards are intended to work together with six overarching values and dispositions to secure effective pedagogy. The values and dispositions cover professional entitlement; Welsh language and culture; rights of learners; literacy, numeracy and digital competence; the professional learner and the system role.

These standards have been used by Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) commencing induction from September 2017, and have been used by all practising teachers and school leaders from September 2018 onwards. They were published in 2017 as part of the ‘New Deal’ for the education workforce announced in March 2015.Further information about the professional standards is available on the Learning Wales website.

Prior to 2017, the professional standards for teachers were the Practising Teacher Standards (PTS), included in the Revised Professional Standards for Education Practitioners in Wales issued by the Welsh Government in 2011. These set out the professional values and attributes, professional knowledge and understanding, and professional skills which teachers are required to demonstrate throughout their careers.

For further information on the New Deal, see the article on ‘Continuing Professional Development for Teachers’.

Professional registration and Code of Conduct 

The Education Workforce Council (EWC) is the independent regulator for teachers in maintained schools in Wales, for further education (FE) teachers and for learning support staff in schools and FE settings. It establishes and maintains a Register of Education Practitioners; a Code of Professional Conduct and Practice for the education workforce; and an online public database of live disciplinary orders and restrictions on employment.

Under The Education Workforce Council (Main Functions) (Wales) Regulations 2015 (as amended), registration with the Council is a statutory requirement for every qualified teacher in a maintained school. Teachers pay an annual registration fee.

Further information on registration requirements and procedures is available from the Education Workforce Council (EWC).

Professional conduct is governed by the EWC’s Code of Professional Conduct and Practice (2015). The key principles are that registered teachers (and other members of the education workforce):

• base their relationship with learners on mutual trust and respect
• have regard to the safety and well-being of learners in their care
• work in a collaborative manner with colleagues and other professionals, and develop and maintain good relationships with parents, guardians and carers
• act with honesty and integrity
• are sensitive to the need, where appropriate, for confidentiality
• take responsibility for maintaining the quality of their professional practice
• uphold public trust and confidence in the education workforce (page 2).

Following a consultation from September to December 2018, the EWC is finalising a revised Code. It is expected that the revised Code will be launched on 1^st September 2019.

The EWC also investigates and hears allegations of unacceptable professional conduct, serious professional incompetence or relevant criminal offences that might call into question a registered practitioner’s fitness to practise. It supports the quality and status of the teaching profession by ensuring that, in cases of serious professional misconduct, teachers can be barred from teaching. It does so in accordance with set professional standards that govern professional conduct and competence - the Disciplinary Procedures and Rules 2017. See the subsection on ‘Dismissal’.

Replacement measures 

Organising cover for absent teachers is a matter for individual schools, acting within the framework of national agreements on pay and conditions. Schools use a range of strategies to provide cover for absence.

Long-term absences are usually covered by the appointment of teachers on a temporary contract. These teachers are fully qualified and known as ‘supply teachers’. Schools recruit supply teachers from employment agencies; the school’s own contacts; lists of supply teachers provided by the local authority; and part-time teachers working either at the school or locally who are willing to work extra hours on a temporary basis. Many schools purchase insurance to provide cover for some of the costs of supply teachers.

For short-term absences, schools may either use supply teachers, or they may employ ‘floating teachers’ (who have part-teaching, part-cover contracts) for the purposes of cover. Teaching assistants and higher level teaching assistants can carry out ‘specified work’ including delivering lessons to pupils, provided they meet the provisions of The Education Workforce Council (Main Functions) (Wales) Regulations 2015 (as amended). Schools may also deploy ‘cover supervisors’. These are school staff with appropriate skills and training who supervise pupils carrying out pre-prepared exercises when teaching staff are on short-term absence.

Guidance is provided in Effective Management of School Workforce Attendance issued by the Welsh Government in December 2017.

Note: In June 2016, the Welsh Government established the Supply Model Taskforce to consider future options for supply teaching. The Taskforce published its findings in February 2017, which included recommendations related to deployment; safeguarding; accurate data collection; pay and conditions; and continuous professional learning opportunities. As outlined in a written statement in February 2017, the Welsh Government accepted most of the report's recommendations, with the caveat that further work and analysis would be required to establish whether all the recommendations are deliverable. In October 2017, the Welsh Government announced a project aimed at improving the way supply teachers support schools in 15 of Wales' 22 local authorities.

Support measures 

As employers, schools have a statutory responsibility to ensure the health and well-being of all staff. This requirement applies to issues relating to health and safety (risk assessments, providing a safe working environment, etc.) and well-being (workload, and emotional and general welfare).

Within the school, responsibility for the well-being of staff lies with the headteacher. In this respect, the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document 2018 sets out a number of specific professional duties of the head, namely to:

• Promote the safety and well-being of pupils and staff.
• Lead, manage and develop the staff, including appraising and managing performance.
• Promote harmonious working relationships within the school. 
• Maintain relationships with organisations representing teachers and other members of the staff.
• Lead and manage the staff with a proper regard for their well-being and legitimate expectations, including the expectation of a healthy balance between work and other commitments (pages 43 and 44). 

Some day-to-day responsibilities may be delegated to other members of a school’s senior leadership team or to a teacher’s line manager.

Performance management arrangements are prescribed by statute and include a requirement to identify and meet a teacher’s support, training and development needs. Information on performance management is provided under the subheading ‘Organisational aspects’ in the article on ‘Continuing Professional Development’.

For newly qualified teachers (NQTs) in their first year of teaching, additional support is provided through the framework of the statutory induction period. Statutory induction guidance recommends that all NQTs should have a school-based mentor (or 'induction mentor') and an external mentor (or 'external verifier'). The external mentor provides additional tailored support to that provided by the school-based mentor during the induction period.

The Education Support Partnership is an independent charity that provides practical and emotional support to trainees and support staff. 

Salaries 

All schools must adopt a pay policy that sets out the basis on which they determine teachers’ pay, and the date by which they will determine the teachers’ annual pay review.

Minimum and maximum values for teachers’ pay ranges in maintained schools in Wales were until recently, determined annually by the UK Government’s Secretary of State for Education, taking into account the recommendations of the bodies described in the introductory section of this article. However, the Wales Act 2017 devolved further legislative powers to the Welsh Assembly and, as a result, in September 2018, the Welsh Government became responsible for setting teachers’ pay and conditions of service in Wales. Following a period of public consultation in 2018, a new Independent Welsh Pay Review Body was established in February 2019 to make recommendations to the Welsh Government on school teachers’ pay and conditions.

The pay ranges for 2018/19 were set by the Secretary of State and are published, along with  guidance on their application in the annual School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD)

There are four ranges within which teachers may be paid: 

Unqualified teacher pay range. This includes individuals who are working towards a teaching qualification and instructors. The legislative basis is set out in The Education (School Teachers' Prescribed Qualifications, etc) Order 2003 (as amended).

Main pay range. This is for qualified teachers who are not entitled to be paid on any other range. Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) start at the bottom of the range.

Upper pay range. Teachers must meet certain criteria to be paid on the upper pay range. (See the subsection ‘Promotion, Advancement’ below).

Leading practitioner pay range. Leading practitioners are teachers employed in posts which have the primary purpose of modelling and leading improvement of teaching skills. For each individual post, schools determine a pay range within the overall pay range.

The table below shows the salary ranges for classroom teachers in Wales in 2018/19.

Source: pages 19, 20 and 22 of the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD)

*Exchange rate used: €1 = £0.87, ECB, 28 January 2019

The pay regime, which was first used for the September 2014 pay award, was introduced with the aim of giving headteachers in maintained schools the freedom to reward good performance and address poor performance.

Schools have discretion over the number and value of points between the statutory minima and maxima, and rates of progression of individual teachers are based solely on performance. The relevant body (either the local authority or the school governing body) must consider annually whether to increase the salary of teachers who have completed a year of employment since the previous annual pay determination and, if so, to what salary within the relevant pay ranges. This is dependent on the outcome of the individual’s annual performance review.

Prior to 2014, the main pay scale consisted of six specified points and the upper pay scale of three specified points. Subject to satisfactory performance appraisal, teachers moved up the pay scales through annual increments. After reaching the top of the main scale they could apply to cross the threshold to the upper scale.

In addition to salary, Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR)payments may be made. There are three levels of payment:

• TLR3 for clearly time-limited school improvement projects, or one-off externally driven responsibilities. This may be awarded concurrently with another TLR payment for a fixed term. 
• TLR2 for undertaking a sustained additional responsibility relating to delivering high-quality teaching and learning, for which the teacher is made accountable.
• TLR1 for additional responsibility, which includes line management responsibility for a significant number of people.

The STPCD sets the maximum and minimum values for the three levels of TLR payment (page 25).

Schools must also set out in their pay policy the arrangements for rewarding classroom teachers with responsibilities for pupils with special educational needs (SEN).

For further information, see the Eurydice publication on Teachers’ and School Head’s Salaries and Allowances 2015/16.

Working time and holidays 

The 2018/19 framework for determining teachers’ professional duties and working time is provided by the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD), which applies to both England and Wales. However, the Wales Act 2017 devolved further legislative powers to the Welsh Assembly and, as a result, in September 2018, the Welsh Government became responsible for setting teachers’ pay and conditions of service in Wales. Following a period of public consultation in 2018, a new Independent Welsh Pay Review Body was established in February 2019 to make recommendations to the Welsh Government on school teachers’ pay and conditions.

The key features of teachers’ working time as set out in the STPCD are as follows (page 47):

• 190 days per year of teaching
• 5 further days each year for staff development or other duties
• across the total of 195 days, up to 1265 hours must be worked at the direction of the headteacher (‘directed time’)
• duties to be undertaken within directed time include teaching, attendance at consultation meetings with parents and others, and staff development.

In addition to the hours of directed time, a teacher must work ‘such reasonable additional hours as may be necessary to enable the effective discharge of his / her professional duties, including, in particular, planning and preparing courses and lessons; and assessing, monitoring, recording and reporting on the learning needs, progress and achievements of assigned pupils’ (page 48).

Under Part 8A of the Employment Rights Act 1996, all employees have a statutory right to ask their employer for a change to their contractual terms and conditions of employment to work flexibly. As a result, while reduced hours are not a contractual part of nearing retirement, for example, a request for reduced hours can be made by the teacher.

Professional responsibilities 

 The School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) sets out a number of specific professional responsibilities which teachers may be required to undertake. In addition to teaching, these relate to:

• whole school organisation, strategy and development
• health, safety and discipline
• management of staff and resources
• undertaking professional development
• communicating with pupils, parents and carers
• working with colleagues and other relevant professionals (page 46).

These professional responsibilities also apply to teachers on the leading practitioner pay range (see the subheading ‘Salaries’ above). However, additional duties relevant to their role in modelling and leading improvement of teaching skills may be included in their job descriptions.

The STPCD also details those tasks which teachers are not required, or are only exceptionally required, to perform. These form an overall package of contractual provisions designed to raise standards, by freeing teachers and headteachers from tasks which do not require their professional skills and expertise, and enabling them to focus on their function of teaching, and leading and managing teaching and learning. For example, teachers are not required to arrange or supervise public examinations, and should ‘only rarely’ cover for absent colleagues.

As there are a range of support staff working alongside qualified teachers in schools, regulations were made under the Education Act 2002 clarifying the respective roles of qualified teachers and other staff in schools. The Education Workforce Council (Main Functions) (Wales) Regulations 2015 (as amended) specify those circumstances under which staff without qualified teacher status (QTS) - usually support staff -  can carry out specified work relating to teaching and learning.

Promotion, advancement 

For 2018/19, the framework for pay progression for maintained schools is set out in the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD). However, the Wales Act 2017 devolved further legislative powers to the Welsh Assembly and, as a result, in September 2018, the Welsh Government became responsible for setting teachers’ pay and conditions of service in Wales. Following a period of public consultation in 2018, a new Independent Welsh Pay Review Body was established in February 2019 to make recommendations to the Welsh Government on school teachers’ pay and conditions.

Promotion to upper pay range 

Under the arrangements introduced from 2013, applications for promotion from the main to the upper pay range (see the subheading ‘Salaries’ above) will be successful where the school governing board is satisfied that: 

1. the teacher is highly competent in all elements of the relevant standards and payments for additional responsibility
2. the teacher’s achievements and contribution to an educational setting or settings are substantial and sustained (pages 68-9). 

Payments for additional responsibilities 

Further advancement may take the form of being charged with extra responsibilities leading to a Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) payment (as described in the subsection ‘Salaries’ above). School staffing structures vary, but, typically, promoted posts would involve one or more of the following additional responsibilities: 

• pastoral responsibilities, including pupil support and guidance and liaison with parents, in roles such as ‘Head of Year’ in a secondary school, or ‘Head of Key Stage’ in primary and secondary schools 
• curriculum responsibility, such as in the role of ‘Curriculum Coordinator’ (in a primary school), or ‘Head of Department’ (secondary) 
• responsibility for a whole-school issue, such as coordination of special educational needs arrangements as a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) / Additional Learning Needs Coordinator (ALNCo). 

Mobility and transfers 

Teachers are not civil servants. They are appointed by the individual school and there are no permanent arrangements for staff to be transferred to an alternative institution if their post becomes redundant. Although some local authorities may have informal arrangements to assist redeployment if school teachers are made redundant in a particular school, this is an arrangement based on goodwill alone.

Prior to 2013, teachers who were paid on the upper pay scale retained this personal entitlement, regardless of whether they remained in the same school or obtained posts in other schools. With the reforms introduced in September 2013, there is no longer any obligation on maintained schools, when recruiting, to match a teacher’s existing salary.

Dismissal 

The framework for the exercise of dismissal and other staffing functions (including appointment, conduct and discipline, and staff grievance) in maintained schools is provided by The Staffing of Maintained Schools (Wales) Regulations 2006, as amended. The regulations place control of these functions in the hands of the school governing body and the headteacher.

The recommended notice period is two or three months, as set out in the Burgundy Book (2000) (page 5). The Burgundy Book sets out conditions of service that many schools incorporate into contracts of employment for teachers. It is published by the National Employers’ Organisation for School Teachers (NEOST), in conjunction with the Local Government Association (LGA) and the teacher organisations.

The statutory minimum notice period is shorter than the recommended notice period. It is a week if the employee has been continuously employed for more than a month, but for less than two years, and two weeks if the employee has been employed by the employer continuously for two years, with one additional week's notice for each further complete year of continuous employment, up to a maximum of 12 weeks.

Teachers may be dismissed for unacceptable professional conduct, conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute, or a conviction, at any time, of a relevant criminal offence. Guidance for schools and local authorities on implementing effective staff disciplinary and dismissal procedures was issued by the Welsh Government in 2013. (A consultation on revised guidance ended on 31 July 2015, but a new version has not yet been issued.)

Under the Education (Wales) Act 2014, the Education Workforce Council (EWC) has legal powers to ‘investigate and hear cases of alleged unacceptable professional conduct, serious professional incompetence and criminal offences involving registered teachers’ in Wales. It does so in accordance with set professional standards that govern professional conduct and competence - the Disciplinary Procedures and Rules 2017.

A school’s disciplinary rules must include procedures for dealing with lack of capability on the part of any member of staff. The main purpose of such procedures should be to encourage an employee whose work is unsatisfactory to improve. However, ultimately, the application of ‘capability procedures’ may lead to dismissal. Guidance for schools regarding capability of teaching staff was issued by the Welsh Government in 2013.

Welsh Government guidance (2015) is also available on procedures for reporting misconduct and incompetence in the education workforce.

Retirement and pensions 

Maintained schools are required to offer the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) to their teachers. This statutory scheme is governed by the Teachers’ Pension Scheme Regulations 2014, made under the Public Service Pensions Act 2013. It is administered by Capita Teachers’ Pensions on behalf of the UK Government’s Department for Education, which retains responsibility for policy concerning pensions in England and Wales.

For teachers joining the scheme since 1 April 2015, the arrangements are:

• a career average scheme
• the Normal Pension Age is equal to the State Pension Age or 65, whichever is the later date
• the accrual rate is 1/57th of pensionable earnings.

The scheme replaced a final salary public service pension scheme, with the aim of making public services pensions more affordable and sustainable.

Teachers aged 55 or over may take early retirement and claim benefits known as Actuarially Adjusted Benefits (AAB). The adjustment is a reduction of approximately 5% for each year taken early before the Normal Pension age of 65.

Under the Employment Equality (Repeal of Retirement Age Provisions) Regulations 2011, the national Default Retirement Age (DRA) of 65, which had allowed compulsory retirement for those over that age, was abolished.

Note: Since 2010, the State Pension Age (SPA) has been undergoing reform. It is being gradually increased (to age 68) and the SPA for women is being brought into line with that for men. Further information on the SPA review is available in a government policy paper.

Article last reviewed April 2021.