OVERVIEW OF THE WARD

REPORT
Presented by
Bernadette Kinsella
Assistant General Secretary JMB

INTRODUCTION
September 2014

Key Points

Casualisation of teaching
profession
Over-reliance of fixed-term
contracts
Future attractiveness of
teaching as a professional
career
Obvious implications for the
overall quality of education
provision

STAKEHOLDERS INTERESTS
Maintenance of a high quality
education system
Teachers seek security of
employment
School management seek to ensure
that we can employ the most
suitable teachers for our pupils
needs and that we have the
flexibility and resources to respond
to changing curricular demands

THE HADDINGTON ROAD

AGREEMENT
Specific provision was made for a consideration of fixed-term
and part-time employment in teaching as follows:
An Expert Group will be established to consider and report
on the level of fixed-term and part-time employment in
teaching, having regard to the importance for teachers of
employment stability and security and taking account of
system and school needs and Teaching Council registration
requirements.
This group will as a first task report on reducing the
qualification period for the granting of a Contract of
Indefinite Duration (CID) from 4 years to 3 years to take
effect for the 2014/2015 school year.
This report was set against a background where

CONSULTATION PROCESS
The Expert Group was established with an independent
chairperson, Peter Ward, SC.
The chairperson consulted extensively with all of the
stakeholders and interested parties over the period January
August 2014.
JMB consulted with and met with the Expert Group over a six
month time frame and made numerous written submissions
detailing its preliminary concerns and views on the issues.
JMB availed of the opportunity to detail and develop the
concerns of members and in particular highlighted
inconsistencies and discrepancies between the application of
the Departments circular letter 34/2009 and the 2003 Act
and the legitimacy of using fixed-term contracts in certain

RECOMMENDATIONS

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
1. I recommend that the qualification period for the granting of a
Contract of Indefinite Duration be reduced from a period of
continuous employment in excess of three years to that of a
period of continuous employment in excess of two years.
2 I recommend that the basis of qualification for a CID as set out in
the series of Circulars giving effect to the agreement on the
implementation of the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work)
Act 2003 be retained and amended accordingly.
3. I recommend that a teacher employed on a CID holds an
employment status which is equal to that of a permanent teacher
and I recommend that confirmation of this status be notified to the
entire school system.

.CONTINUED
4.I recommend that once a teacher has completed his or her first
year of fixed-term employment in a school and the hours are
available for that post for the following year, that position should
be automatically re-advertised by the school and a new
recruitment process undertaken for the filling of the post for the
second year.
5. I recommend that teachers who qualify for a CID on the basis of
two years employment in accordance with Recommendation 1
should be liable to redeployment in circumstances where their
subject or subjects become surplus to the curricular requirements
of the school in which they qualify for the CID.

.CONTINUED
6. I recommend that a teacher covering for another teacher on
career break or secondment should not be disqualified from
entitlement to a CID on that ground. The exclusion that currently
applies to a teacher covering for another teacher on career break
or secondment should be abolished. I recommend that upon the
return of the teacher on career break that the teacher who
provided the cover and qualified for a CID be placed on the
Redeployment Panel.
7. When a part-time CID holder is awarded additional hours I
recommend that in relation to the granting of a further CID in
respect of those additional hours, the current qualifying period of
continuous employment for a period in excess of three years be
replaced by a continuous period of employment in excess of one
year.

UNDERSTANDING THE
RECOMMENDATIONS

THE EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF TEACHERS

Requisite number of years studying to qualify as a
teacher
Few permanent positions
Fixed-term and/or part-time positions the norm
Hours culture
Casual hours by way of substitution or temporary cover
Attainment of a CID is now the new method of attaining
permanent status in the teaching profession

SOLUTION?
Framework set out in Departmental Circulars DES
CL 34/2009
HRA reduced the qualifying period from four years
to three years.
Adopted without significant controversy
Process sets out an obvious means by which to
address the significant problem of teachers having
to wait an unreasonable time to attain permanency
Solution: Reduce the period of continuous
employment required to qualify for a CID

ABILITY OF SCHOOL MANAGEMENT TO

APPOINT THE MOST SUITABLE PERSON
School management bodies were very clear in the
consultation process of our need to be able to appoint the
most suitable person to any vacant post.
The need to be flexible in order to respond appropriately to
the changing curricular needs of the school and the pupils.
The need to respond to changes in subject demand identified
as a pressure point for school management.
The securing of the first fixed-term employment leading to
an expectation of continued employment in the school

SOLUTION?
If a teacher is to secure a CID after a period of over two years
continuous employment on continuous fixed-term contracts,
reasonable to terminate at the end of the first school year and to
re-advertise the position for the following school year.
The first year of fixed-term employment is: one year of
employment which terminates at the expiry of the year.
The re-advertisement process allows school management the
opportunity of ensuring that is employs the most suitable person
for the post.
Solution: All first-fixed term posts terminate and the positions are
automatically re-advertised where the hours are available for that
post for the following year.

THE REDEPLOYMENT OF TEACHERS

Mismatch
School management bodies submitted that in the future if they
have a surplus in a subject area, they should have the opportunity
of addressing that issue by identifying the teacher who is qualified
in the subject area or areas which are surplus to requirements and
placing that teacher on a redeployment panel.
School management bodies emphasised the need to provide a
curriculum appropriate to the needs of their students and to
maintain curriculum development in line with those changing
needs.

SOLUTION?
An extension of the redeployment scheme to incorporate those
who qualify for a CID on the recommended time period of two
years, would, however, introduce greater flexibility into the system
and ensure that schools do not end up with a subject surplus as a
result of a teacher qualifying for a CID on the two year qualifying
period.
This scheme only applies to teachers who acquire a CID from 1st
September 2015

COVER FOR APPROVED LEAVE OF

ABSENCE
A teacher is excluded from qualification for a CID if he or she is covering
for another teacher absent on an approved scheme of leave of absence
and this was set out as an objective ground in writing in the teachers
contract. One of the most common forms of approved leave of absence
is career break.
Teachers covering for teachers who avail of the possibility of career
break often find themselves in continuous employment for a significant
number of years without any prospect of qualification for a CID.
A similar situation can arise where a teacher is covering for a teacher on
secondment to another position. Such secondments can also last a
considerable period of time.
Such teachers covering long term Career Breaks/Secondment for a
significant amount of time and yet have no security of employment.

SOLUTION?
Expert Group not convinced that it is reasonable to exclude a
teacher providing cover for teachers on career break or
secondment from qualification for a CID
The exclusion is abolished.
Recommendation also included that upon the return of the
teacher on career break/secondment that the teacher who
provided the cover and qualified for a CID be placed on the
Redeployment Panel.
Going forward: terms of career break scheme and
secondment should be changed to incorporate the new
changes.

THE ADDITION OF HOURS TO A

PART-TIME CID
Teachers who are on part-time hours and qualify for a CID are in many
cases anxious to obtain full-time hours.
Under DES CL 34/2009 a teacher who obtains a CID for less than full
hours must commence the process of qualifying for a second CID in
respect of any additional hours in accordance with the circulars.
Teachers who are on part-time hours are often under financial
pressure and it is a matter of some considerable concern to them to
increase their hours as soon as possible.
Awareness that schools must allocate their hours in accordance with
the curricular needs of the school.
Schools need to ensure that hours are allocated in accordance with
the subject requirements of the pupils.

SOLUTION?
The current qualifying period of continuous employment for a
period in excess of three years has been replaced by a continuous
period of employment in excess of one year.

DES CL 0024/2015
Implementing the new circular

WHAT HAS CHANGED?

OLD - V - NEW
Old
Ward Report recommends that
the basis of qualification for a
CID as set out in the series of
Circulars giving effect to the
agreement on the
implementation of the
Protection of Employees
(Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003 be
retained and amended
accordingly.

New

DES CL 0024/2015 issued on

27th March 2015

CONTENTS OF THE CIRCULAR

Part A sets out the revised terms and

conditions for teachers that are created
by the implementation of the Ward
Report.
Part B sets out the process of sanctioning
CIDs by the Department/Education and
Training Boards (ETBs) that are sought
based on the revised terms and
conditions introduced by the Ward
Report. It also sets out the procedures to
be followed by employers and teachers.
Part C sets out the Adjudication Process.

Part D sets out the

Redeployment Scheme to
address a mismatch at secondlevel between curricular needs
and staffing resources.
Part E deals with a number of
additional matters.

PART A1: ELIGIBILITY

Reduction of the period of qualification for eligibility to a CID
The qualification period for the granting of an initial CID is reduced
from a period of continuous employment in excess of three years
with the same employer to a period of continuous employment in
excess of two years with the same employer; all of such
employment must have been in a post(s) funded by monies
provided by the Oireachtas. This reduction means that a teacher
will be awarded a CID rather than a further Fixed Term Contract
provided the conditions and procedures set out in this circular are
satisfied.

PART A1: ELIGIBILITY

Previously a CID could be acquired provided the post
continued to be viable for a reasonable period,
came from the allocation, did not relate to
temporary cover and where there were no objective
grounds. This will continue to be a condition for
eligibility but as amended by (2) following. It should
be noted that a reasonable period is considered to
be at least a full school year.

PART A2: CHANGES IN RELATION TO QUALIFICATION

FOR ELIGIBILITY FOR A CID IN THE CASE OF
PROVIDING COVER FOR CERTAIN TEACHER ABSENCES

Heretofore a post which concerned providing cover

for a teacher absent on an approved scheme of
leave of absence did not provide eligibility for a CID.
The Ward report, however, extends eligibility to
include covering for a teacher absent on two
specific schemes of absence but this is confined to
covering the absence of (i) a teacher on career
break or (ii) a teacher on secondment.

PART A3: HOURS TO BE INCLUDED

IN A CID
When a CID is being awarded under the new
terms and conditions the hours of the CID will
be those hours for which the teacher was
engaged on a fixed term contract for the full
school year prior to the issuing of the CID and
those hours are not confined to hours
reckoned under Part (1) or (2).

PART A4: ADDITIONAL HOURS

Where a teacher who is the holder of qualifications
appropriate to the sector has a part-time CID and the
Board of Management/ETB has employed this teacher
for additional hours (i.e. a part-time fixed term
contract in addition to a previously acquired CID in the
school/ETB), and the hours concerned continue to be
viable and available within the school/ETBs allocation,
the qualifying period of continuous employment for a
CID based on those additional hours is reduced from a
period in excess of three years to a period of
continuous employment in excess of one year

PART A5: CID AND PERMANENT

STATUS
A teacher employed on a contract of
indefinite duration holds an
employment status that is equal to
that of a permanent teacher.

PART A6: TERMINATION OF FIRST

FIXED TERM CONTRACTS
All first fixed-term contracts must be terminated at
the end of the school year and if the employment is
continuing for the following year, it must be
automatically re-advertised by the employer and a
new recruitment process undertaken for the filling of
the post for the second year. Therefore, the
employer must terminate the contract and cannot
provide a new fixed term contract to any teacher
unless it advertises and interviews first.

PART A7: REDEPLOYMENT

Post-primary teachers who qualify for a CID through the reduction
of the qualifying period to a period in excess of two years
continuous employment will be liable to redeployment in
circumstances where their subject(s) become surplus to the
curricular requirements of the school in which they qualify for the
CID. This new liability to redeployment is in addition to any liability
the person who acquires the CID may have under the existing
redeployment schemes.
A teacher who acquires a CID as a result of covering for a teacher
on career break or secondment will be placed on the relevant
redeployment panel for redeployment immediately prior to the
return of the teacher that s/he is covering for.

PART B SANCTIONING
CIDS

CRITERIA
A CID will be sanctioned by the DES where: The teacher is registered on a current basis with the Teaching Council, and
S/he is the holder of sector appropriate qualifications; and
s/he has in excess of 2 years continuous teaching service under two or more
successive Oireachtas-funded written contracts of employment with the same
employer; and
Eligibility has been established; and
A new interview process was conducted at end of year one*

* Where at the commencement of the 2015/16 school year a teacher has

entered into the third or more continuous year of employment in a post
eligible for a CID further interview is not required.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES
Where at the commencement of the
2015/16 school year a teacher has
entered into the third or more
continuous year of employment in a
post comprehended by Part A(1) and
A(2) the teacher is eligible to be
considered for a CID rather than a
further one year fixed term contract
without further interview.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES
The school should apply to the Department to have the teacher
placed on the payroll as a teacher who is eligible for a CID.
Form 11A must be submitted.
The application form for a CID to be submitted by the school will
require the school and the teacher to certify that the application is
in respect of the continuation of a post that has been funded from
monies provided by the Oireachtas only and that the conditions as
laid out in B1 are satisfied in full.
The school must also certify that the CID sought is in accordance
with the terms outlined in the circular and that it is in respect of a
viable post as per A(1) and A(2).
Form 11B is submitted with respect to additional hours

WHAT TO DO?
JMB personnel are available to help and support you with your
queries
Scenarios emerging and are dealt with on a case by case basis
In constant touch with DES with respect to developing FAQs
8th May is closing date
Ongoing review
Next stage of communication to schools: The termination of the
first fixed-term contracts and key action points.
Do not hesitate to make contact by phone, appointment, email
with
Kara Turner, Gerry McCaul, Siobhan Corry, Maria Kane and myself

REDEPLOYMENT
Presented by
Gerry McCaul
School Management Advisor JMB