Councils facing huge bill as teachers’ unions go to court over holiday pay

The two largest teaching unions, the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) and Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA), have joined forces against City of Edinburgh Council in a move which could affect hundreds of teachers across the country.

The move follows a European Court of Justice ruling that an employee who had taken a year’s maternity leave was still entitled to accrue holidays she would have had over that period.

Should the unions be successful in their legal challenge, it would mean Scottish teachers who took maternity leave between late 2008 and 2010 would be entitled to up to 66 days of backdated holiday pay they were denied.

The European case was recognised by the UK in October 2008, but the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) did not agree the change to teachers’ conditions of service until May 2010.

Fourteen Scottish councils have refused to settle claims of teachers affected during the 18-month period up to the SNCT’s enactment of the change. The remaining 18 local authorities have settled backdated claims to 2008.

It is understood most of the teachers feel they are owed just a few hundred pounds, although some may be owed up to £700.

Council officials in Edinburgh had initially estimated the cost of settling holiday claims for both those on maternity leave and those signed off sick to be £1.1 million.

However, it is now thought the cost of settling claims from 50 teachers over holiday entitlement racked up during maternity leave will be around £65,000.

The unions plan to back the cases of a number of teachers before an employment tribunal in the New Year. If the tribunal finds in the teachers’ favour, the ruling will set a precedent for the cases pending against the other 13 councils.

Ann Ballinger, general secretary of the SSTA, said: “What these teachers are looking for is their entitlement. A great deal of that money has already been paid to them. The money outstanding is not a huge amount, in some cases it’s just a few hundred pounds.

“It took an inordinate amount of time to come up with the wording of contract [agreed by the SNCT]. A cynical person might venture it suited them to wait for another few months.

“It seems extremely unfair that an arbitrary date for the printing of a piece of paper should be used to determine whether or not they receive benefits which the European Courts have decided they are entitled to.”

Drew Morrice, assistant secretary of the EIS, estimated there were around 200 cases pending across Scotland.

He said: “The unions expect that if these cases succeed, compensation would be provided by the council for the loss of contractual entitlement.”

Last year, the local authority organisation Cosla sent a letter to council finance directors warning of the “major financial implications” associated with the new maternity regulations, which were significant for teachers because they have longer holidays than the statutory minimum of 28 days.

Officials in Edinburgh had estimated that the cost to the already cash-strapped council of holiday pay accrued by staff either off on long-term sick leave or maternity leave would total £1.1m a year, providing a major new budgetary pressure.

However, it now appears the burden will not be as heavy as was initially feared, although other councils in Scotland also face pay claims.

The changes followed a case in which a Spanish woman, Merino Gomez, took her employer to court after it refused to grant her leave following her return to work after maternity leave.

A Cosla spokesman said: “There is no one-size-fits-all here. Councils should take their own legal advice, and consequently their own decision, having regard to the individual circumstances of each case.”

A spokesman for Edinburgh council said it would be inappropriate to comment, given that the case was ongoing.