Vol. 557 No. 1
289 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Education and Science when he plans to introduce into his Department, the legislation covering part-time teachers, in view of the fact that this legislation was passed over a year ago; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that teachers working part-time are disadvantaged in terms of holiday and sick pay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21461/02]
The Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act, 2001 is a complex piece of legislation which provides that certain part-time employees shall not be treated in a less favourable manner in respect of his or her conditions of employment than a comparable full-time worker. Conditions of employment include pay, annual leave, sick leave and pensions. Discussions with the teacher unions and the managerial authorities of primary and post-primary schools on the implementation of the legislation in respect of part-time teachers are ongoing. All sides are committed to finalising these discussions at the earliest possible date.
It should be noted that fully qualified part-time teachers who teach at least half the hours of a full-time colleague each week over the full school year have enjoyed pro rata pay and conditions for some time.
