For most teachers, sick leave and sick pay entitlements are set out in the Burgundy Book national agreement on conditions of service. Details are set out below. The vast majority of local authorities follow the terms of the Burgundy Book scheme, which is incorporated into their teachers’ contracts of employment.
In some local authorities, local agreements improve upon the Burgundy Book scheme. Teachers who work in academies or free schools may also be covered by different arrangements, particularly if they joined the academy or free school after it changed status. Any member who is in doubt should request a copy of the sick pay scheme from their employer.
Teachers’ national sick pay entitlements, set out in the Burgundy Book, give a sliding scale entitlement according to aggregated length of service, as follows:
Length of service | Sick pay entitlements |
---|---|
During the first year of service: | Full pay for 25 working days and, after completing four calendar months’ service, half pay for 50 working days. |
During the second year of service: | Full pay for 50 working days and half pay for 50 working days. |
During the third year of service: | Full pay for 75 working days and half pay for 75 working days. |
During the fourth and successive years: | Full pay for 100 working days and half pay for 100 working days |
This sick leave sliding scale is a minimum and employers have the discretion to extend it in any individual case.
It should also be noted that the Burgundy Book scheme operates on the basis of working days. It is only those working days for which the teacher is absent that count against the above sliding scale entitlements. Holidays and weekends do not count against these entitlements.
As a rough guide, therefore, teachers can reckon on the following approximate periods of full and half pay, subject to the variations caused by any periods of school closure:
Length of service | Sick pay in months |
---|---|
During the first year of service: | Full pay for 1½ months; and, after four calendar months’ service, half pay for 3 months. |
During the second year of service: | Full pay for 3 months; half pay for 3 months. |
During the third year of service: | Full pay for 4½ months; half pay for 4½ months. |
During the fourth and successive years: | Full pay for 6 months; half pay for 6 months. |