28 October 2005
Ofsted, the education watchdog, was this week accused of a puritanical attitude towards its staff after it emerged that managers could cut costs by docking employees' pay if they take emergency leave.
Public Finance has discovered that senior Ofsted managers have proposed controversial changes to the organisation's 'flexible leave' scheme that could be introduced from 2006.
But members of the Public and Commercial Services union, which represents hundreds of Ofsted staff, claimed that plans to impose strict financial penalties on all short-notice emergency leave would have a more serious impact on female staff and could contravene employment law.
Dean Rogers, the PCS's national officer for Ofsted, told PF that domestic emergencies such as the illness of an employee's child could mean that staff would be forced to take a cut in pay.
Serious incidents, such as a death in the family, could also lead to financial penalties if employees did not use holiday entitlements to cover their absence, Rogers claimed.
'These proposals are giving us great cause for concern. They seem Cromwellian and puritanical and indicate a deep distrust of staff who are placed in difficult domestic circumstances.
'They would impact more heavily on female staff and consequently we are taking legal advice on the legality of any future switch.'
Ofsted executives are hopeful that an agreed staff absence package could be in place by the time the watchdog opens its National Business Unit call centre in April 2006.
A spokeswoman for the watchdog said: 'Sickness absence figures for Ofsted for the past 12 months are the lowest we have had since 2001 and are below the civil service average.
'We recently presented the unions with a revised policy on special leave, which makes clear the right of individuals to take leave when domestic emergencies arise. Ofsted would never unreasonably withhold such leave.'
The spokeswoman added that Ofsted staff had 30 days' annual leave each year, in addition to ten days' public holidays and 'privilege days'.
'We also provide special paid leave for individuals undergoing traumatic circumstances, such as the death or serious illness of a partner,' she said.
PFoct2005
