After a lengthy court process, a part-time music teacher from Bedford has managed to win her case against her employer, as her holiday pay hours were not calculated correctly.
Lesley Brazel is a part-time faculty member at Bedford Girls’ School, and she decided to start a legal battle against her employer after she found out that instead of calculating her holiday pay based on average weekly wage, the school actually calculated her holiday salary as a percentage of her work hours for the whole year.
The court ruled in favor of Ms. Brazel’s request, as according to the judge, the holiday pay of part-time teachers should be calculated based on the twelve-week school term, instead of on a yearly basis.
Part-time teachers in the UK
According to the ruling judge, this decision will change the way all part-time teachers in the United Kingdom receive their holiday pay.
Ms. Brazel first decided to turn to the court back in March and won an appeal, which obligated the school to pay her holiday hours based on average weekly pay. While the music teacher was dissatisfied with her salary, she wanted to keep her job, and still teaches classes in the school. According to school representatives, Ms. Bazel is a valued member of the school’ faculty and community.
Schools should reward part-time teachers appropriately, as they are a significant part of the faculty members across the country. The student-teacher ratio is a vital factor for the quality of education, and governments and schools should do their best to keep their part-time staff in employment.
