The National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ALT) have announced that last minute crunch talks with the Government to protect their pensions have been unsuccessful, and as such, they have no other option but to go ahead with their planned strike on Thursday.

Whether a school is completely closed or partly closed will depend entirely on the proportion of the staff who are members of the striking unions.

The strike will disrupt thousands of schools, and as a result, will cause a huge headache for both employed parents and their employers.

Working parents will have to arrange last minute childcare, and if that option is not viable, will have no alternative but to work from home or take leave.

Employers are expected to be inundated with holiday requests, and under such short notice, may not be able to authorise all requests to protect the needs of their business.

Some employers may have an Annual Leave Policy and/or a Parental Leave Policy which may or may not cover this type of event.

If no leave is available and an employee has used all of their holiday entitlement, unpaid leave will have to be requested.

The employer also has limited scope to refuse leave due to the dependency of the children involved.

Even if an employee has to take unauthorised leave, the employer would have to be mindful of whether they want to discipline the employee, as such action could be perceived as discriminatory.

Points for an employer to consider in order to maintain a happy workforce:

1. Can annual leave be granted?
2. Do you have a Carers/Parental Leave Policy that covers this type of event?
3. Can the employee work from home?
4. Can the employee take unpaid leave?
5. Can the employee alter a previous booked holiday?
6. Can the employee work a half day or alternative hours to suit available childcare?
7. Be mindful of the employees who are not affected

For more information please contact myself, Luke Welsh, on 01792 525 400 or email luke.welsh@jcpsolicitors.co.uk