A founding principle of trade unions is solidarity. Amongst other things, that means not undermining sister unions by poaching members. Our movement is stronger where we work together in the interests of all of our members.

Union membership is an individual’s choice. It is therefore not appropriate for any trade union to deliberately and actively seek to poach members of other trade unions to bolster industrial action. This contravenes TUC principles which state:

“All affiliates of the TUC accept as a binding commitment to their continued affiliation to the TUC that they will not knowingly and actively seek to take into membership existing or ‘recent’ members of another union by making recruitment approaches, either directly or indirectly, without the agreement of that organisation.”

The NASUWT has not entered into any agreements permitting other unions to take into membership members of the NASUWT.

Membership of the TUC also commits unions to take steps to ensure that they are not poaching members of another unions, whether intentionally or otherwise. The TUC Code states:

“In all cases where present or past trade union membership is indicated, the union to which the application has been made will immediately inform the present or former union in writing, giving names, grades and location, so that it may discuss the matter with the individual(s) concerned.”

No, it isn’t. We want members to stay with the NASUWT and we believe it’s in the best interests of members to stay with the NASUWT. We are committed to working together with our sister trade unions to secure the best deal for our members.

No unions are asking members of the NASUWT to leave to join another union in order to take strike action with them. Doing so would undermine important principled commitments made by every TUC-affiliated union. Our responsibility is to do nothing that would undermine industrial action by our sister trade unions.

Members should also consider that:

• by ending your membership of the NASUWT in order to take part in strike action with members of other unions, you could be at risk of disciplinary action by your employer;

• leaving the NASUWT to join another union could also remove the rights you have accrued as a member of the NASUWT, including your right to legal support and representation for any employment-related matters that relate to the period in which you were a member of the NASUWT. It is unlikely that any other union would provide legal support and representation for matters that arose prior to you joining them.

If the school is closed on a day when you would normally work, you should report to work as usual unless directed to work from home by the school.

You can support colleagues by expressing solidarity for their action, but you should not join a picket line.

Members in receipt of facility time should carry out their normal duties supporting NASUWT members.

It may be sensible to email your employer on the day to state you are on facility time and are carrying out your normal duties.

As trade union activists, we would always want to express our solidarity to sister unions but members should do so appropriately and ensure that they do not place themselves or the Union at risk.

If you attend a strike rally but should be at work on the strike day, then this is a risk. You are expected to be available for work and would not have secured permission from your employer.

Moreover, for activists in receipt of facility time, there is a further risk for themselves and for the Union.

Facility time is granted by the employer to enable you to undertake trade union duties. If you are on facility time on a strike day, you should carry out your normal duties supporting NASUWT members.

Attending rallies could be construed as taking unofficial/unauthorised action and therefore could result in disciplinary action.

All teacher unions are fighting for better pay for teachers and headteachers. It is therefore right that members show their solidarity with colleagues in other unions when they are taking industrial action.

There are a number of things you can do:

• If you are in work on the day of a strike, refuse to undertake the work of your striking colleagues.

• Express your support to colleagues on the picket line. Assure them of your solidarity.

In many other disputes where NASUWT members are already taking industrial action, members of other unions have provided support with refreshments and supportive comments that help bolster morale.

Crossing a picket line does not undermine other unions taking part in industrial action and all unions will advise their members to report for work when another union is taking industrial action.

Members have every right to be angry about government cuts to teachers’ pay. The only reason members have been prevented from taking industrial action is because the government has imposed arbitrary rules that prevent you from doing so. We must continue to stand together to demand the repeal of anti-trade union laws.

The NASUWT insists that members should not undermine industrial action by other unions. Doing so, would weaken trade union solidarity and allow governments and employers to divide and rule. This would mean further damage to the working conditions of teachers across the board.

Members can ensure they do not undermine colleagues in other unions by ensuring that they:

• do not co-operate with employers if you are asked to confirm in advance whether you will be available to work on the day of a strike. By law, there is no requirement or obligation for NASUWT members to tell their employer or headteacher whether they are a member of the NASUWT or whether they will be attending work on the day of a strike. Your employer will already have been notified by unions taking industrial action of the number of their members who are being asked to take the action.

• do not undertake or cover the work of members of other unions who are taking industrial action. Members employed in schools/colleges cannot be required by law to cover the work of striking workers.

• do not agree to undertake supply work on the day of a strike.

Where NASUWT members have not been instructed to take strike action, they are required to report for work.

Where a union taking strike action establishes a picket line, refusal to cross it would render a teacher who is not a member of the union(s) taking strike action liable to disciplinary action, including the deduction of salary, as it would be considered as participating in unlawful industrial action.

The single exception to this is where there are genuine grounds to believe that crossing the picket line would put the person concerned at risk of injury. In these circumstances, NASUWT members should contact the headteacher/principal, or an appropriate senior person in the school/college or an appropriate person in the employing authority, if the headteacher/principal is not available. They should also contact the NASUWT to advise what has taken place and to seek further advice and support.

In all other circumstances, members should cross the picket line having assured those picketing that they will not be undertaking the work of those on strike.

While an employer may choose to deduct salary for a day when a member has refused to attend the workplace by not crossing a picket line, it must be borne in mind that any such failure to report for work may be regarded as unofficial industrial action and could result in individual employees facing disciplinary action by their employer.

The law does not permit employers to seek this information. Such enquiries could be tantamount to intimidation by the employer and would be unacceptable.

There is no requirement or obligation for employees to provide information to their school/college as to whether or not they will be taking industrial action. Indeed, the DfE guidance Handling strike action in schools. Guidance for school leaders, governing bodies and employers (January 2023) also confirms that ‘employees are not required to tell their employers whether they intend to take strike action’.

Employers will have been notified by any unions taking strike action of the number of members they have at any individual workplace. It is a matter for the employer to base any planning and risk assessments on the information that has been supplied to them.

There is no requirement or obligation for NASUWT members to advise their employer whether they will be in work or not ahead of the day of any strike action.

Members are strongly advised not to provide such information if they are requested to do so.

No. Information on the names of NASUWT members is classed as private and sensitive information under the Data Protection Act and may not be provided without the express written consent of the person(s) named.

Employers might request information from staff regarding their intentions on a strike day. It should be noted that these are referred to as ‘voluntary’ or ‘optional’ and, as such, there is no requirement for you to respond.

Other than reporting for work, NASUWT members are under no obligation to provide further information to the employer, as the requirement to inform the school of the number of staff taking industrial action rests with the relevant trade union.  

There is also no obligation for you to tell your employer that you are a member of the NASUWT.

Members are strongly advised not to provide such information if they are requested to do so.

Should your school/college seek this information ahead of a planned day of industrial action, you might find one or more of the following statements useful if you feel it necessary to respond:

1. In regard to the form recently circulated for staff to complete, I understand this is optional and, as such, will not be completing it.

2. As you will appreciate, I am under no obligation to disclose membership of a trade union or my intentions on a day of industrial action other than to report to work if appropriate.

3. Any obligations in respect of health and safety and the completion of risk assessments rests with the employer and I am sure you will be informed of the number of staff taking industrial action accordingly.

If your employer continues to persist, then please alert the NASUWT.

Under health and safety legislation, your employer has a legal duty to ensure that your school/college is safe to open. Your employer is required to provide to all staff a risk assessment which confirms the measures that will be taken to keep your workplace safe at all times.

If a school/college cannot confirm that it is able to maintain safe staffing levels on the day of a strike, then the school/college should be closed.

Where members have concerns that a suitable risk assessment is not in place prior to the day of any strike action, they should contact the NASUWT immediately.

If the school is closed, our members should not be given tasks to do which they would not normally be doing.

They can get on with their own planning and marking. The headteacher does not need to invent tasks for them to do.

Headteachers/principals will need to make a judgement about whether the school/college can remain fully open, partially open, i.e. some year groups/class sent home, or will close.

The NASUWT Workplace Representative will need to confirm that the headteacher/principal has undertaken a risk assessment based on the potential impact on the school/college of the absence of staff who will be involved in the strike action.

If the decision is made to close the school/college, the headteacher/principal will decide whether it is closed only to pupils. Staff not involved in strike action should report to work or remain at home if directed by the headteacher/principal to do so.

NASUWT members should follow the instruction of the headteacher/principal in this matter. However, the NASUWT does not believe it makes much sense for those not taking action to be instructed to attend if all pupils are remaining at home. If there is any risk to safety as a result of the instruction of the headteacher/principal, members should contact the NASUWT immediately.

If pupils are remaining at home and staff are being asked to report to work, in these circumstances the NASUWT would need to be satisfied that the work that members would be directed to undertake in school/college in the absence of pupils would not constitute any element of work which would normally be undertaken by a member of staff on strike and also that the work they are being directed to do is reasonable and commensurate with their contract. There should be no expectation placed on NASUWT members to teach or set and/or mark the work of pupils they would not normally teach who are at home due to the absence of members of other unions who are taking industrial action.

Contact should be made immediately with the NASUWT for advice if members have any concerns about the work being allocated to them in school. The same applies if any employer suggests that NASUWT members should work from home as this opens up questions about, for example, appropriate risk assessments, energy costs, IT equipment, etc.

NASUWT members should not suffer any salary deduction if the school closes.

Where a school/college remains partially open and certain classes/year groups are sent home, NASUWT members should not agree to timetable variations to accommodate classes or pupils who would normally have been taken by those taking action. The NASUWT would need to establish with the headteacher/principal that members who are working with their normal classes will be able to access all the necessary services to ensure the health, safety and welfare of themselves and the pupils.

Yes.

Notice of the closure of a child’s school may not be given to parents until the week of the strike.

Given this, a member may not know the situation in advance and whether or not they are required to take leave to care for their child if their child’s school is closed.

If the school is closed, members are advised in the first instance to see if the school/college has a Leave of Absence Policy which permits time off for dependants.

Many schools do give discretionary paid leave for one to five days. The member would then have to request leave from the school.

If there is no such policy/provision, members are entitled to take statutory unpaid leave for dependants.

Some schools might seek to prevent teachers with caring responsibilities from taking the necessary leave, citing the fact that action by another union is foreseeable.

However, the NASUWT believes this is wholly unacceptable given that many parents and children will not be aware of the situation in advance.

No. It is vitally important that as members of the NASUWT, we demonstrate solidarity with other colleagues who are taking part in official industrial action.

Members should not be asked to cover the work of colleagues in other trade unions when they are taking part in industrial action.

NASUWT members should not agree to teaching classes or groups, collapsed classes, timetable changes, supervising classes or groups, providing work for classes or groups, or undertaking any supervision of pupils that would normally be carried out by other colleagues who are taking part in industrial action authorised by their trade unions.

Any request by your employer to perform the duties of a colleague who is participating in official strike action is not acceptable and would not constitute a reasonable management instruction.

There should be no expectation placed on members of the NASUWT to undertake the work of support staff.

If a member is instructed to do so by the headteacher/principal, they should protest, ask the headteacher/principal to put the instruction in writing and notify the NASUWT immediately.

In the event of strike action by support staff, the headteacher/principal must undertake a risk assessment, in consultation with all staff and trade union representatives, to ensure the health and safety of staff and pupils on site at all times during any period of industrial action.

In the event that health and safety is compromised, the NASUWT will expect that facilities should be closed to pupils and staff.

If you have received a written instruction you should register your protest, but then comply with the instruction to protect yourself.

Below is a form of words that you can use in response to the written instruction:
 
I refer to the request that I undertake the work of striking colleagues. I write to put you on notice that I do not believe that you should be compelling me to cover for striking colleagues. Therefore, I do not agree that the changes that you are proposing are necessary or appropriate.

Whilst I intend to undertake the additional tasks, so as to avoid any suggestion that I am failing to follow a reasonable instruction, I reserve all my rights in relation to any potential breach of contract by my employer and to pursue all legal avenues available to me.
 
You should then contact the NASUWT at [email protected].

Members are advised to check the specific terms of their contract and establish whether it includes any element of general cover for absent colleagues.

If the cover supervisor’s job description details this as one of their normal roles, then they can be asked to cover for absent colleagues. Refusal to do so could result in disciplinary action for failure to follow a reasonable management instruction and/or breach of contract.

If, however, you are employed to specifically provide PPA cover, and not absence cover, then you should not be directed to cover for a striking colleague.

No! Where a school/college remains partially open and certain classes/year groups are sent home, NASUWT members should not agree to timetable variations to accommodate classes or pupils they would not normally teach, such as those pupils of teachers taking industrial action.

This would include situations where they would be expected to supervise students in a library, as this is still undertaking cover for absent colleagues.

The risk assessment would need to confirm that members who are working with their normal classes will be able to access all the necessary services to ensure the health, safety and welfare of themselves and the pupils. If this isn’t possible then the school should be closed.

A teacher timetabled to teach PPA, who the previous year might have taught a year group, is not a teacher employed to provide cover.

They are a teacher who has been timetabled to do PPA teaching.

If you undertake PPA cover as a teacher, this forms part of your contract of employment. You should not be expected to provide cover other than rarely and in situations that are unforeseen. Strike action is not unforeseen.

If two job share partners work on the same day and one is on strike, it will depend on whether you team teach or have a split timetable and what is set out in your contract.

If you operate team teaching on the same day, and your contract states that one partner would take the class on their own in the absence of the other teacher, then you could be expected to teach the class on your own for the whole day.

If however you and your job share partner operate a split timetable - e.g. one of you is timetabled to teach the class in the morning and the other job share partner is timetabled to teach the same class in the afternoon - then you should not be asked to cover your partner’s afternoon session, unless this is specified in your contract.

Cover refers to taking a class or group assigned to another teacher who is absent for any reason.  Members must not cover the work of other employees who are taking part in official industrial action.

Any attempt by an employer to seek to undermine industrial action by asking NASUWT members to undertake the work of other colleagues would constitute strike breaking and would be unreasonable and unacceptable.

If you are verbally asked to cover the work of colleagues in other unions, ask for a signed written instruction and pass a copy immediately to your NASUWT Representative, Local Secretary, National Executive Member or to your National/Regional Centre.

No. Members must not cover the work or undermine the industrial action of colleagues who are taking part in official industrial action.

The NASUWT will not accept unacceptable or bullying employer behaviour. Members should contact the Union for support where there are concerns.

Where necessary, the NASUWT will declare a dispute with individual employers and ballot members for industrial action to protect members from threats, bullying or other intimidation by their employer.

The NASUWT will take a robust stance against any employer, legally and industrially, where an employer chooses to take punitive action against members who refuse to cover the work of other colleagues who are taking part in industrial action.

This would not be acceptable to the NASUWT as it would involve NASUWT members covering the work of other teachers who are taking industrial action.

The annual school calendar of events should have been consulted on and agreed with the recognised trade unions and staff prior to the summer break. This allows staff to plan their own activities and commitments.

This should not be subject to change, including as a consequence of industrial action.

The term ‘partial performance’ refers to circumstances where an employee does not fulfil the duties and requirements as set out in their contracts of employment. It is important that members look carefully at their contracts of employment to understand the duties and requirements that may apply to them.

If an employer refuses to accept ‘partial performance’, they are required to notify any affected employees in advance in writing that they have the right not to attend work (and not get paid).

Where an employer refuses partial performance and sends employees home, members may not be required to undertake any work for the employer during that time.

Such deductions may be unlawful. Members should report immediately to the NASUWT where this arises.

The Union would look to challenge such action legally and also consider balloting members at the school/college for industrial action.

The NASUWT does not accept that it is the role of headteachers or SMT members to undermine industrial action by other unions.

The responsibility of school and college leaders is to ensure that the school/college can open safely for any pupils and staff who may be on site. This will require that a risk assessment be undertaken in anticipation of strike action by other unions. Where safety concerns cannot be addressed, such mitigation as necessary should be considered, including determining whether it is safe for the school to open during the period of industrial action.

During periods of industrial action by other unions, NASUWT leadership members should continue to undertake their normal duties and responsibilities for running the school/college, including:

• ensuring arrangements are in place for the safe physical opening of the building;

• ensuring there are adequate arrangements in place to ensure the safety and security of the building, employees and pupils attending the site during and at the end of the day.

A long-term supply teacher has a contract with an agency but has been in the same school for three weeks and he should be teaching there until March. What should they do on strike day? Should they refuse to work that day or do they have to go in and cover or just go in and refuse to cover?

An NASUWT supply teacher on a long-term assignment would need to report for work to the school where they are undertaking the assignment as they would on any other day.

The supply teacher should expect to cover the classes assigned to them during the day of industrial action.

The supply teacher could refuse to cover other classes, but, depending on their contract of employment, the member could be directed to undertake other work in order to be paid for that day.

If the supply teacher decides not to report to work then it is highly likely they will not be paid for that day, and, depending on the contract of employment, the school could decide to terminate the contract with the supply teacher.

In regard to teachers on short-term, day-to-day supply, the Union appreciates that the repeal of the ban on supplying agency workers during strikes has put you in a very difficult situation in respect of industrial action taken by another union.

The Union successfully challenged the repeal of Regulation 7 of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 to avoid situations where supply teachers are placed in such an invidious position.

The Union would suggest that supply teachers do not undertake an assignment on a day of industrial action by another union by stating that they are unavailable to work when asked by the agency/umbrella company, but recognise that, due to the intermittent, insecure and precarious nature of supply work, this may not always be feasible.

Yes - if the school is closed you can be directed to work from home.

You would need to be satisfied that the work you would be directed to undertake in school/college in the absence of pupils would not constitute any element of work which would normally be undertaken by a striking colleague and also that the work they are being directed to do is reasonable and commensurate with their contract.

There should be no expectation for NASUWT members to set or mark work or teach the pupils of those teachers from other unions who are taking industrial action.

It is potentially reasonable for an employer to ask non-striking teachers to provide work for pupils they would have taught on a strike day if these pupils are not able to attend school physically.

It is not reasonable for you to be asked to provide such work for pupils you would not normally be timetabled to teach.

However, this does not mean that this work must involve live streamed lessons. Remote learning can be organised asynchronously, where pupils engage with work set in advance by their teacher or through access to recorded resources.

There is a wide range of existing resources available to support provision on this basis, including those available through the Government-funded Oak National Academy. The content and nature of this work should be determined through the exercise of the teachers' professional judgement.

Where a school or employer proposes that live streamed lessons are used to deliver remote learning, the NASUWT is clear that such a proposal would only be reasonable if all the provisions set out in the Union's checklist on live streaming are in place.

No. Normal arrangements for notifying the employer of sickness absence continue to apply.

Where an employee is unwell, they should report to their employer that they are unwell and will not be attending work.

Employees are entitled to self-certify for the first seven days of sickness absence, following which a fit note will be required.

If the member is ill on the day of industrial action, there is no requirement to submit a fit note until you have been absent in excess of seven days, as individuals are able to self-certify.

Healthcare professionals cannot issue fit notes for non-medical problems and do not issue them until an individual has been absent in excess of seven days. To ask them to do so would put additional and unreasonable pressure on the NHS at a time of unprecedented stress on the health sector.

If any member was subject to punitive action as a result of being ill on a day of industrial action, the NASUWT would robustly challenge this by all means available.

Teachers working in maintained schools in England and Wales, as well as the overwhelming majority of teachers in academies, are bound by the contractual provisions of the Burgundy Book, which does not place any such expectation on a member prior to the eighth day of absence.

As appropriate, as a HOD you may be required to undertake a risk assessment and identify any additional risk and control measures and present this for sign-off by the school leadership.

It’s not for a HOD to make staffing decisions about how such an absence should be covered.

NASUWT members should not agree to timetable variations to accommodate classes or provide work for the classes for teachers undertaking industrial action.