IEU supports right to disconnect to help curb educator workloads

The IEU welcomes new right to disconnect legislation and the efforts of many schools to ensure that staff and parents are aware of and act in accordance with these changes.

Over the last couple of decades we’ve seen a growing expectation from some quarters that teachers are ‘always on’, which is simply not reasonable or sustainable.

Interviewed by ABC 774 radio today, IEU General Secretary David Brear said some independent schools that had claimed the legislation would make it difficult for them to operate were “overstating” the effect of the new laws.

David said that parents, students and school leadership have taken advantage of new technologies such as email and mobile devices and “seen fit to contact their staff well into the time that ought to be for them to spend with their own families and friends”.

“It’s one of the factors that’s really contributed to workload intensification so we really welcome this new legislation and we think it’s overdue.”

The ABC spoke to David after Mentone Grammar instituted a new policy where staff are now only able to send emails between 6am and 6pm and have 36 hours to respond to an email.

David said workloads have to be sustainable because “people have got to keep turning up day after day and the demands on our members working in some independent schools have been excessive in recent years”.

“It can still be done in a very reasonable framework, so that student, parent and leadership still have the capacity to communicate officially and to the extent necessary to run a school.”

Under the new laws, workers can now ask the Fair Work Commission to stop harassment outside of work hours. Repeated unreasonable contact could lead to fines or even criminal charges.

Several independent schools are now reminding parents that teachers are not required to respond after hours unless it's an emergency.

We all know that teachers do loads of work after hours, but to be able to do their jobs well they, like all workers, need to be able to have time away from the demands of work.

Responding to individual parent queries is important, but it’s not always the most urgent task for a teacher with multiple classes and responsibilities.

The IEU encourages our members and school leaders to, where possible, avoid sending or responding to communications late at night or over the weekend.

While such communication is sometimes unavoidable, it’s important that schools and employees go back to sensible and healthy working patterns, especially with external harassment contributing to the worsening teacher shortage crisis.

Mentone Grammar principal Andy Muller told the Herald Sun the school was “falling in line with the legislation to take the pressure of staff feeling they had to be perpetually in contact”.

Earlier this month he told staff that they “cannot be asked and are not expected to answer emails outside of work hours”.

The school is also suggesting that parents phone teachers or meet in person rather than undertaking email conversations and it is bringing back a physical communication book to facilitate written messages between parents and teachers.

“We’ve come full circle — it’s much easier if there’s an open dialogue between school and home, with parents popping in a note rather than going through an online portal,” Mr Muller said.

The Herald Sun reports that other schools telling parents that staff are not obligated to deal with emails outside of work hours include Loyola College in Watsonia, Avila College in Mount Waverley, Notre Dame College in Shepparton and St Joseph’s College in Geelong.