Co-/joint/shared headship: more FAQs
Questions
What happens if one of the job-share headteachers decides to retire/move on?
Is the role of deputy head the same with a job-share headship?
What happens when a substantive headteacher requests access to phased retirement?
How do employment contracts work for a job share? What happens if one partner resigns or retires?
Does it matter what a job sharer is doing with their ‘not-working’ time?
Do job-share heads have performance management interviews together or separately?
Is it best for heads to work on set days of the week?
Who attends the governing body meeting? Who writes the termly reports?
Do job-share headteachers cost a school more?
Answers
What happens if one of the job-share headteachers decides to retire/move on?
This eventuality, and how it will be handled, should be made explicit in the contract of employment issued to the job-share partners. It might be that the job-share worker who remains would have the option to become full time, the vacant proportion of the role might be advertised, or the whole headship post may be considered vacant.
Governing bodies are advised to take expert advice as appropriate; for example, from a local authority human resources team.
Is the role of deputy head the same with a job-share headship?
Yes: a school can choose to alter its senior leadership team when a job-share head arrangement is implemented; but, in principle, other roles within the school remain the same.
What happens when a substantive headteacher requests access to phased retirement?
There is no automatic right to be granted phased retirement. The school should make a decision to approve or reject requests based on whether suitable arrangements can be made to cover the business requirements. A school should not use a deputy headteacher to cover for phased retirement without an appointment to acting headteacher. If the deputy head does not wish to become an acting headteacher then the school should find another way of covering the post. This might, for example, include granting a phased retirement request on the condition that recruitment of a job-share headteacher is successful. Using an acting headteacher post is not a long-term solution.
If a headteacher is planning a phased retirement over a relatively short timescale, over one or two years for example, then it might be appropriate for the school to initially advertise a post that is a part-time head/part-time deputy head, which would then become a full-time headship at a known point in the future. Such an arrangement would be legally compliant as long as it was built into the contract. Such arrangements, however, are less easy to implement if the phased retirement is open ended.
How do employment contracts work for a job share? What happens if one partner resigns or retires?
Normally, the employment contract for a job-share will set out what happens in the case of one partner leaving. Sample contractual text (though this shouldn't be taken to constitute legal advice) might be:
“Your post is part of a post which has been divided under a job-sharing arrangement. Should your job-share partner resign from this post, or have his/her employment terminated for reasons other than redundancy, you will normally be offered the remaining portion of the post. If you decline the offer, every effort will be made to fill the vacant hours by normal recruitment procedures. However, if these are unsuccessful and the school still requires the full hours of the post to be worked, your contract may be terminated. Every effort will be made to find you suitable, alternative employment, but you must understand that this cannot be guaranteed.”
Conditions such as the above sample should be agreed as part of any job-share employment contract, which should be drawn up by HR professionals with appropriate legal advice.
What has a school got to gain from having a job-share headship as opposed to a traditional single head?
Job shares can offer significant advantages to a school. Each job sharer brings their own experience, perspective and energy to the role. The incidence of sickness is reportedly lower and both workers enjoy an improved work-life balance.
Does it matter what a job sharer is doing with their ‘not-working’ time?
No: a job sharer might be involved in a number of activities: engaging in consultancy work, studying or simply enjoying more free time. However, it is best practice for job sharers to transparently declare any potential conflicts of interest and employment contracts may limit an individual’s capacity to have additional employment.
Do we interview job-share candidates individually or together? Should candidates submit a joint application?
Candidates should apply and be interviewed individually. It may be helpful to identify potential job-share partners before submitting an application as this might increase the chance of achieving a successful outcome; but this is not essential.
Do job-share heads have performance management interviews together or separately?
Each headteacher should have individual performance management targets and interviews. This emphasises the importance of clear, individual targets and lends clarity to areas of responsibility.
Is it best for heads to work on set days of the week?
There are no hard-and-fast rules around practical issues like this. The governing body and the headteachers should ensure there is appropriate cover, leadership and management for the school whenever it is open. This may involve the headteachers directly, or a deputy.
Who attends the governing body meeting? Who writes the termly reports?
The headteachers involved should ensure these tasks are covered appropriately. The governing body should construct local arrangements that suit the headteachers' needs.
Do job-share headteachers cost a school more?
A co-headship arrangement is normally a broadly similar cost to a traditional headship arrangement.
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