The Student Room Group

Theory: Could thousands of teachers be forced to quit teaching?

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With the school closures lasting until at least autumn all teachers will be laid off.
Many will be forced to sign on and live off benefits. Some might take other jobs but if they “sign on” they will be committed to accept any job on offer or lose their benefit. Once they take another job some might enjoy it better salary and settle into it choosing not to return to teaching.

Others may be trapped by the jobs contract and not be able to leave for 12-18 months meaning they can’t return to teaching if schools return before then.
Breach of job contracts can in extreme cases result in the employee being sued.

Could this happen?

What will happen if we lose many teachers?
(edited 4 years ago)

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Reply 1
I don’t think this will happen. The government has guaranteed funding for schools in their previous statements so there would be no reason to lay teachers off. If you’re thinking of the economic impacts this virus will have, teaching is also a pretty much a recession proof job, there will always be a demand for them.
Original post by iBearHQ
I don’t think this will happen. The government has guaranteed funding for schools in their previous statements so there would be no reason to lay teachers off. If you’re thinking of the economic impacts this virus will have, teaching is also a pretty much a recession proof job, there will always be a demand for them.

True but what if the government realises how much money it’s losing and decides go back on it’s guarantee and stop paying teachers while they are not teaching expecting them to live of benefits instead? The school closures could even last until new year 2021 I’ve heard. It will cost hundreds of millions of pounds paying teachers a full salary to stay at home. Any auditor of a company in financial crisis would suggest laying off non working staff to save money. The government is likely to do the same in these extreme circumstances.
Reply 3
The gov announced today the 80% salary cover. The sole reason for this was to make sure people don't lose their jobs and businesses aren't forced to lay people off. 80% is a generous amount considering the circumstances.
(edited 4 years ago)
Original post by Ambitious1999
With the school closures lasting until at least autumn all teachers will be laid off.
Many will be forced to sign on and live off benefits. Some might take other jobs but if they “sign on” they will be committed to accept any job on offer or lose their benefit. Once they take another job some might enjoy it better salary and settle into it choosing not to return to teaching.

Others may be trapped by the jobs contract and not be able to leave for 12-18 months meaning they can’t return to teaching if schools return before then.
Breach of job contracts can in extreme cases result in the employee being sued.

Could this happen?

What will happen if we lose many teachers?

No they wont be.
More wild unsubstantiated and illogical claims form you, down to your usual standard.
You do speak consistent tosh.
Original post by Ambitious1999
True but what if the government realises how much money it’s losing and decides go back on it’s guarantee and stop paying teachers while they are not teaching expecting them to live of benefits instead? The school closures could even last until new year 2021 I’ve heard. It will cost hundreds of millions of pounds paying teachers a full salary to stay at home. Any auditor of a company in financial crisis would suggest laying off non working staff to save money. The government is likely to do the same in these extreme circumstances.

Its not going to happen, calm down. Besides, schools will still be open to accommodate the children of key workers.
Short answer is no.

However, I am concerned for this year's PGCE students. What's going to happen about their placements etc, because they haven't finished them yet. Maybe exceptional circumstances will be put in place for their qualification?

But maybe I'm derailing the thread haha
Original post by 999tigger
No they wont be.
More wild unsubstantiated and illogical claims form you, down to your usual standard.
You do speak consistent tosh.


I was asking a question not making a factual statement or claim! Did you see the “?” symbol? It’s called a question mark! It Means “Question” not statement!

The next clue is the word “Could” the first word in the title of the thread! It’s an inquisitive word which turns the statement into a question!

Now make notes of these simple grammatical points then you might understand the difference between questions and statements.
With the school closures lasting until at least autumn all teachers will be laid off. [ No they wont be , teachers remain in employment over the summer as they always have. You have no evidence of this and it is untrue as the basis for your statement]
Many will be forced to sign on and live off benefits. Some might take other jobs but if they “sign on” they will be committed to accept any job on offer or lose their benefit. Once they take another job some might enjoy it better salary and settle into it choosing not to return to teaching. [ No they wont be fired , so they wont be signing on. If you hadnt worked it out teachers are in demand, not only are there existing pupils to teach they have A levels and GCSE's to sort out plus they have to get ready for when school restarts]

Others may be trapped by the jobs contract and not be able to leave for 12-18 months meaning they can’t return to teaching if schools return before then. [ False employment contracts do not trap you for 12-18 months especially teaching, more fanciful nonsense by you]
Breach of job contracts can in extreme cases result in the employee being sued [ You dont know what you are talking about. Not for a teacher it wont. it rarely happens for other cases and they wouldnt be applicable for newly employed teachers].

Could this happen? [ No because you are misinformed on almost every point you make]

What will happen if we lose many teachers? [ You might lose teachers due to disenchantment with the profession, but not because the government sacks them]
they really can't do that. can you imagine the outcry?!
Original post by Ambitious1999
With the school closures lasting until at least autumn all teachers will be laid off.
I stopped reading here. This won't happen.
Original post by Ambitious1999
True but what if the government realises how much money it’s losing and decides go back on it’s guarantee and stop paying teachers while they are not teaching expecting them to live of benefits instead?

We aren't sitting at home living our best lives. We are still teaching. It is just that our kids are now at home. And most schools are still open looking after vulnerable kids and those of key workers.
Original post by king axolotl
Short answer is no.

However, I am concerned for this year's PGCE students. What's going to happen about their placements etc, because they haven't finished them yet. Maybe exceptional circumstances will be put in place for their qualification?

But maybe I'm derailing the thread haha

This is my thought too. More to the point, how are trainees going to get jobs if the schools are closed?
Original post by Ambitious1999
With the school closures lasting until at least autumn all teachers will be laid off.
Many will be forced to sign on and live off benefits. Some might take other jobs but if they “sign on” they will be committed to accept any job on offer or lose their benefit. Once they take another job some might enjoy it better salary and settle into it choosing not to return to teaching.

Others may be trapped by the jobs contract and not be able to leave for 12-18 months meaning they can’t return to teaching if schools return before then.
Breach of job contracts can in extreme cases result in the employee being sued.

Could this happen?

What will happen if we lose many teachers?


Many schools are still open and staff are still being paid. In these uncertain times, people may not be able to change jobs but that's up to individual schools to decide. They'll still need to fill jobs on September so may still advertise and interview as normal.
Original post by Ambitious1999
With the school closures lasting until at least autumn all teachers will be laid off.

No, I work in a school and everyone on a permanent contract has been told their jobs are 100% safe. We are on full pay until this crisis is over. Teachers are setting work for pupils and marking it from home. Teaching Assistants are still working with pupils with Education Care plans. Staff are still supervising the children of key workers who are allowed to come into school.
I'm still providing work for my classes online and responding to queries daily. We are also expected to supervise in school 1 day each week to provide for those still attending due to their parents' jobs and other vulnerabilities. I think our salaries will remain as they are..remember that this is a rapidly evolving situation and measures are taken based on worst case scenarios in mind, so while it is unlikely, we may all be back at school a lot sooner than government projects. Keep calm and embrace the opportunities brought by this situation: more free time to do self improvement, learning and growing.
As others have posted.

I'm pretty sure teaching will be one of the most risk adverse professions at the moment.

If we get to September and the virus is still well in control it could have a negative impact on University admissions though, as The Open University already have a tried and tested scalable platform for distance learning.
I'm still providing work for my classes online and responding to queries daily. We are also expected to supervise in school 1 day each week to provide for those still attending due to their parents' jobs and other vulnerabilities. I think our salaries will remain as they are..remember that this is a rapidly evolving situation and measures are taken based on worst case scenarios in mind, so while it is unlikely, we may all be back at school a lot sooner than government projects. Keep calm and embrace the opportunities brought by this situation: more free time to do self improvement, learning and growing.
Original post by Ambitious1999
With the school closures lasting until at least autumn all teachers will be laid off.
Many will be forced to sign on and live off benefits. Some might take other jobs but if they “sign on” they will be committed to accept any job on offer or lose their benefit. Once they take another job some might enjoy it better salary and settle into it choosing not to return to teaching.

Others may be trapped by the jobs contract and not be able to leave for 12-18 months meaning they can’t return to teaching if schools return before then.
Breach of job contracts can in extreme cases result in the employee being sued.

Could this happen?

What will happen if we lose many teachers?


Most teachers are being expected to continue working- either setting work from home or going into school to care for the children of essential workers and EHCPs etc. Schools will continue to pay teachers as normal for this work.

The way teacher's contracts are written, it is very hard to just give them notice as you would in private business (this works both ways, as there are only 3 points in the year that teachers can hand their notice in as well). Schools also won't want to be scrabbling around for staff when they reopen, so they will avoid making teachers redundant during this period.

The only group of teachers at risk (and I fall into this group) are teachers on temporary contracts with a fixed end date- many NQTs will be in this boat, as well as people doing e.g. maternity cover. I'm not sure what will happen to my contract in September. I'm also part way through an application process for another job.

Also, most supply teachers will have been left without an income.

This is obviously a very difficult time for a lot of people, but saying "all teachers will be laid off" is ridiculous.
Original post by sp00kymcflukey
I'm still providing work for my classes online and responding to queries daily. We are also expected to supervise in school 1 day each week to provide for those still attending due to their parents' jobs and other vulnerabilities. I think our salaries will remain as they are..remember that this is a rapidly evolving situation and measures are taken based on worst case scenarios in mind, so while it is unlikely, we may all be back at school a lot sooner than government projects. Keep calm and embrace the opportunities brought by this situation: more free time to do self improvement, learning and growing.

That's a great post :smile:

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