62 Bonus culture

Submitted by Association of Teachers and Lecturers

Congress celebrates the values and commitment of staff in public services, which are overwhelmingly shared by leaders and managers of those services, and recognises the contrast with the private sector with its emphasis on short- term profits and personal gain.

Congress believes that importing market values into the public sector has bred a culture of bonus payments that has started to undermine the collaborative approach to public services. In the education sector, the incursion of the bonus culture has been highlighted by the cases of allegedly unlawful payments made to headteachers, and the loss of public control of schools, and particularly academies, which are public assets.

Congress fears that these are not isolated examples, and calls on the Government to:

i) review financial accountability mechanisms for schools, including academies

ii) replace the statutory provisions in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document, permitting school leaders to receive unlimited additional pay above their normal maximum pay levels, with clearly defined limits, together with criteria for any additional payments

iii) ensure that all school governing bodies are aware of the new provisions and have adequate mechanisms for setting and monitoring pay levels in their schools.

Amendment

From NASUWT

In paragraph 3, insert new sub-paragraph iii):

‘iii) introduce a new statutory duty on all schools to publish details annually of the pay and rewards of headteachers and other school leaders’

Re-number the remaining sub-paragraph.