Make up hours in the new school year
As a rule, teachers may be deployed for a maximum of 1659 hours per year. Sometimes, however, a teacher is scheduled for less hours. Do these hours have to be made up for the following school year?
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Joyce works as a physics teacher in secondary education and every year she goes on an excursion to Venlo with her mentor class. This year the costs are unexpectedly high and that is why the outing is canceled at the last minute. The teacher offers to perform other tasks during this period. However, these are not available at the moment, her employer reports. That is why Miss Joyce stays at home these days.
To catch up
Not long after, the teacher receives her annual assignment for the coming school year. It states that she will be deployed for over 1680 hours in the year. She asks her supervisor for an explanation. He tells her that she worked less than 1659 hours last year because the excursion was canceled. She has to make up for these hours this school year. The dazed Joyce indicates that she will come back to it.
As a member of the AOb the teacher writes an email to the legal department. Can the employer just set off these hours with the hours of the previous year? Joyce is outraged because she has offered to do other tasks instead of the camp.
Joyce is outraged because she has offered to do other tasks instead of the camp
To pass on
A lawyer from the AOb answers her mail. According to the law, the employer must in principle also continue to pay wages when there is no work. The employee must then be available to perform work and the absence of work must be at the employer's expense. The collective labor agreement maximizes the annual workload, so in principle a teacher can be deployed less.
In this case, the cancellation of the excursion is at the expense of the employer. Joyce offered to do other work, but the school did not take advantage of it. The employer may not subsequently pass this on to the teacher.
The absence of work must be borne by the employer
The union lawyer therefore offers to write a letter about this to the employer, explaining the above. Joyce agrees and two weeks later the teacher receives a letter from her employer. Her annual task has been adjusted to 1659 hours and the teacher does not have to make up for the canceled camp. The teacher is relieved.
Members experiencing the same experience as Joyce can contact the Legal Department. As a rule, the teacher is in a strong position and the annual task has to be adjusted.
