Commenting on Labour’s forthcoming legislation, Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“This Bill is a welcome step towards Labour’s promised overhaul of workers' rights.
“The Conservatives left us with some of the most restrictive trade union legislation in Europe and presided over appalling industrial relations, which they deliberately worsened with draconian anti-union laws.
“More flexible working for teachers and support staff will be good for staff, pupils and students. We think that it will also help greatly with retention. Our members should also have the right to switch off from work – we want to see an end to 10pm work emails.
“For too long schools and colleges have avoided taking action on the gender pay gap. Prohibiting performance related pay and increasing pay and progression transparency will expose poor employers and enable women to progress in their careers unhindered.
“We want to see 'day one' protections and access to benefits for all teachers and support staff in the education sector. Removing the detrimental barriers to in-work support will prevent working educators from falling into poverty.
“Proposals to stop employers from exploiting and then dismissing new recruits from unfair dismissal are to be welcomed. Taking on 'fire and rehire' practices is long overdue.
“We also want to see greater protection from discriminatory dismissal for older teachers, in particular women teachers who are working through the menopause.
“We look forward to studying the Bill in greater detail when it is published.”