Employment law support for schools and education providers

When an allegation is made against a member of staff, the employment process runs alongside statutory safeguarding arrangements. Keeping children safe in education routes such concerns to the headteacher or principal, who considers whether an onward referral to the local authority designated officer is required; in some cases the police or children's social care are involved as well. Where a referral to the Teaching Regulation Agency may be in play, DfE tells employers that where they are in any doubt a referral should be made, and made promptly — it does not wait for the internal process to conclude. All of which has one important consequence: the quality of your internal investigation is not only an employment question. It becomes the evidence base for everything that follows.

Sources: DfE, Keeping children safe in education · DfE, Teacher misconduct: the prohibition of teachers

These duties sit at the end of a process, not the start of one, and they arise only in a narrow set of circumstances. Where a relevant employer has ceased to use a teacher's services because of serious misconduct — or might have done had the teacher not resigned first — it must consider whether it would be appropriate to refer the matter to the Teaching Regulation Agency. That is a duty to consider, applied to the facts, not an automatic referral. Separately, and on a different trigger, a duty to refer to the Disclosure and Barring Service can arise where a person has been removed from regulated activity (or would have been) and the employer thinks they have engaged in relevant conduct or that the harm test is met. The two are regularly conflated, and over-referring is as much a problem as under-referring. Knowing where you actually stand is the point.

Sources: Education Act 2002, s.141D · Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, s.35

Where an interim prohibition order is imposed while a case is being investigated, the order applies immediately and the employer is notified in writing; the employer must ensure the person is prevented from carrying out teaching work until the case concludes or the order is lifted. A regulatory instruction therefore arrives as an urgent employment problem — questions of suspension, redeployment and pay all follow, and each has to be handled lawfully and quickly.

Source: DfE, Teacher misconduct: the prohibition of teachers

A misconduct case can take a long time to reach a hearing — the TRA reported a median of around two years from referral to conclusion for cases going to a hearing in 2023-24, against a 52-week target. Across that period the employer is kept informed, may be required to produce documents or other material evidence, and members of staff may be required to give evidence. Managing the employment relationship, and supporting the staff involved, over that timeline is a task in itself. Outcomes are published, which adds a reputational dimension for the school as well as the individual.

Sources: TRA, Annual report and accounts 2023-24 · DfE, Disciplinary procedures for the teaching profession

Education relies heavily on term-time-only staff, exam invigilators, peripatetic teachers, sports coaches and casual cover. Holiday pay for part-year workers has been the subject of significant litigation — the Supreme Court held in Harpur Trust v Brazel that a part-year worker on a permanent contract was entitled to the full 5.6 weeks with no pro-rating — and the position was then substantially changed by regulations introducing accrual at 12.07% and optional rolled-up holiday pay for irregular-hours and part-year workers, for leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024. Many organisations are still working through what that means for how these staff are paid. The same population will be affected by the guaranteed-hours provisions in the Employment Rights Act 2025, which are expected to take effect in 2027 once commencement regulations are made.

Sources: Harpur Trust v Brazel [2022] UKSC 21 · SI 2023/1426 · Employment Rights Act 2025

Education is the most heavily unionised sector in the country — 47.4% of employees were trade union members in 2025, the highest of any industry. Restructures, changes to terms, and disciplinary matters are more likely to be contested, more likely to involve collective consultation, and more likely to attract union representation from an early stage. Process discipline matters more here than almost anywhere.

Source: DBT, Trade union membership, UK 1995 to 2025

Academy conversion, movement between trusts, and the transfer of provision between providers are TUPE events, frequently involving pension protections and complex consultation obligations affecting large numbers of staff simultaneously.

Source: DfE, Information note about academy transfer

Teachers' and support staff terms are shaped by national frameworks and, in maintained schools, by the statutory School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document, which is given effect by order each year under the Education Act 2002. Academies are not bound by it, though many follow it. Local flexibility exists in places and not in others, and knowing which is which before you propose a change matters.

Source: DfE, School teachers' pay and conditions

Falling rolls, budget constraints and — for independent schools — changes to the cost of provision have driven staffing structure reviews and redundancies. These are almost always time-pressured and almost always contested.

In early years settings in particular, staffing ratios are a hard requirement of the statutory framework rather than a target. An absence is not merely an operational inconvenience; short-staffing can put registration compliance at risk, which changes how absence and capability need to be managed.

Source: DfE, Early years foundation stage statutory framework

Inspection regimes generate significant workplace stress, and stress-related absence, grievances and capability issues frequently follow. These need handling carefully, and often with more sensitivity than a standard absence process allows.