Academy Schools
Policies and Procedures
Employment law can be a daunting area for academy schools and many choose to continue to pay for local authority support. Continuing to obtain advice and use local authority policies may mean you are adopting more complex policies and procedures than are required by law and that you are restricting the opportunity to differentiate your terms and conditions.
Being an academy gives you the opportunity of adopting the terms and conditions that will enable you to recruit, reward and retain the best staff to deliver your curriculum. For example, our appraisal and performance management policies and procedures incorporate the Teachers’ Standards and implement the DfE’s requirement that schools adopt best practice in this area. We also provide comprehensive guidance to accompany the policies.
Education Retainer
DC Employment Solicitors provides a range of retained solutions, to cover all employment law and HR requirements, to suit different organisations.
We can provide an advisory service, either as part of our Education Retainer solutions, or on a stand-alone basis when required.
Confidential Second Opinion
Following conversion, many academies continue to rely upon their local education authority for their policies and procedures and for advice on employment and HR issues. Increasing numbers of schools are expressing concern about the lengthy and time-consuming procedures they have to follow. Pressures on education authorities to cut costs mean their staff numbers have reduced and it takes longer to receive a response. Often, the departure of more experienced staff can impact the quality of response you receive.
DC Employment Solicitors acts as a “confidential second opinion” provider for employment law advice, when there is concern about the quality or speed of the response from the education authority.
Our advice is always tailored to provide the best solution for the school and its pupils, whilst ensuring that the rights of staff are respected and minimising the risk of disputes arising. We spell out the risks associated with different options to enable you to assess the most appropriate route to follow. With this, the school can often persuade the education authority to take a different course which is more appropriate to the school.
Our Team
Our Education Team’s partners, consultants and staff are able to offer a unique combination of public, private, not-for-profit and education sector experience to the education sector, covering all aspects of employment law and HR practice and procedure.
This enables us to provide solutions for each school according to their individual requirements, rather than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.
We are proud of client feedback that confirms we understand their needs and deliver solutions that achieve desired outcomes.
