Coronavirus: Teachers will not have to cut August holiday short

Northern Ireland teachers who have booked holidays which run into the last two weeks of August will not have to return to work early for the new term.

It follows an agreement between unions and teaching employers.

However, teachers who have to go into quarantine after travelling abroad will have to work from home.

Some pupils are due to begin the 2020/21 school year on 24 August, but staff will be expected to go back to work up to a week before that.

There were concerns the earlier start to term could disrupt any holidays teachers had already booked in August.

Education Minister Peter Weir had originally wanted some pupils to return to school on 17 August but later put that back by a week.

In a joint agreement the unions and employers said teachers would not be expected to return to school early from a holiday in August, as long as it had been booked before 18 June.

"Teachers, principals and vice-principals who have pre-booked holidays or have other commitments that were arranged prior to 18 June 2020, the official notification of a change in the start date for academic year 20/21, shall be allowed to honour those commitments without detriment," the agreement said.

"It is imperative, however, that those affected in this manner notify their holiday arrangements to their principal or line manager by 30 June 2020, in order to inform workforce planning."

"In the case of a principal, the chair of the board of governors should be notified," it added.

"Teachers, principals and vice-principals who have pre-booked holidays arranged prior to the announcement of quarantine arrangements and who may be required to isolate after travelling abroad, will be required to work from home during any isolation period."

Both unions and employers - which include the Department of Education, the Education Authority and the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools - said "some flexibility may be required" in the 2020/21 school year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But they said that would not be to "the detriment of teachers' terms and conditions of service".

Justin McCamphill, from the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), said the agreement would provide clarity to teachers.

"The NASUWT along with other unions were opposed to the original date given by the minister but successfully persuaded the minister to move his plans back by a week," he said.

"It is important to note that while the start of the academic year 20/21 will be from the week commencing 17 August 2020, the decision to deploy teachers during that week is for individual schools to make," Mr McCamphill added.

"In addition the agreement provides protection to teachers, principals and vice-principals who have to quarantine when they return from holiday."