Your right to paid leave during teacher strikes

2 February 2023

West Mercia Police Federation is reminding members of their right to ‘Time Off for Dependants’ (TOfD) leave during the teachers’ strikes.

TOfD is a benefit that entitles officers to take paid leave in situations such as the ongoing industrial action if they have young children who will be at home during a school closure, and they cannot arrange essential cover.

Pete Nightingale, interim chair of West Mercia Police Federation, said: “As police officers we are painfully aware of the impact of below inflation pay rises and effects of years of underfunding across various sectors with more industrial action seeming likely.

“When it comes to teachers striking, the effect of that on our members may be that we have children who will need to be home and looked after. My message to colleagues is, if you need to take time off, then be aware of your legal entitlements under TOfD. You do not need to eat into your annual leave.”

Pete added that members should speak to their line manager in the first instance and can seek help from Federation rep if further support is required.

He added: “I know this will be a bitter blow for colleagues, that police are suffering the same erosion of our pay and living standards but are prevented by law from exercising the option of industrial action. My message is that the Police Federation here in West Mercia and nationally will continue to make the case to Government for you to be treated with fairness and respect for the challenging job you do.”

Here is a basic outline of how TOfD could help:

• TOfD was put in place to ensure officers could deal with unexpected situations that affect those who depend on them
• TOfD cover a variety of circumstances, including strike days by public services - even if these are known about and understood well in advance
• TOfD is classed as duty and therefore entitles officers to paid leave
• There is no limit as to how many days an officer can use TOfD, as long as the leave is necessary
• Please note, TOfD is not the same as ‘carers leave’ or ‘emergency leave’.

Further strike action by teachers that is likely to result in full or partial school closures across West Mercia are Wednesday 1 March and Wednesday 15 March.

For more information on TOfD members should read this document.