Teaching assistant: be careful if your employer proposes a change into your employment contract
If your employer proposes a change into your open-ended employment contract, it not advisable to sign a new contract. You should discuss the matter with your shop steward.
Some employers have proposed to teaching assistants a change into employment contract regarding interruption of work and pay during school holidays. At worst, adding such contract term can lead into a situation where the employee has no right to unemployment benefit during the interruption.
Your trade union JHL has compiled a list of things that you should keep in mind if you work as a teaching assistant and your employer proposes such change into your employment contract.
Remember that you can always contact your shop steward if you are not sure about a contract term. Trade Union JHL defends firmly its members’ terms and conditions of employment also at schools and other educational institutions.
Do this if your employer proposes a new employment contract term about interruption of employment during school holidays
- Find out how the contract term about interruption of employment during school holidays affects your right to receive unemployment benefit.
- Do not sign a new contract before you know the effects.
- Contact your shop steward before signing a new contract.
- Request for a written explanation of the grounds for and effects of the change from your employer.
- If the change is made after cooperation negotiations and grounds for terminating your employment contract, then it may be possible for you to get unemployment benefit for the duration of the interruption.
- You can also receive unemployment benefit if the contract term about interruption of employment has been in your employment contract from the start.
- Remember that if you voluntarily agree to a contract term that interrupts work and pay during school holidays, the result can be that you do not receive unemployment benefit during interruption of your employment.
Rules for receiving unemployment benefit are strict. Unemployment benefit is not granted if the employee causes unemployment for themself, for example by agreeing to a temporary lay-off or reduction to part-time employment without cooperation procedure and grounds for termination of the employment contract.
Join JHL!
JHL is the best trade union for you if you work as a teaching assistant or in before- and after-school activities. We look after your working conditions, and you receive loads of great membership benefits.