Education Act 1996

202 Transfer of staff

(1) This section applies to any school where proposals for acquisition of grant-maintained status have been approved in relation to the school; and, subject to subsection (3), applies to any person who—

(a) if the school is an aided school, is immediately before the date of implementation of the proposals employed by the governing body, or

(b) immediately before the date of implementation of the proposals—

(i) is employed by the local education authority to work solely at the school, or

(ii) is employed by the local education authority to work at the school and is designated for the purposes of this section by an order made by the Secretary of State.

(2) A person employed by a local education authority in connection with the provision of meals shall not be regarded for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) as employed to work solely at a school unless the meals are provided solely for consumption by persons at the school.

(3) This section does not apply to—

(a) any person employed as mentioned in subsection (1) whose contract of employment terminates on the day immediately preceding the date of implementation of the proposals, or

(b) any person employed as mentioned in subsection (1)(b) who before that date—

(i) has been appointed or assigned by the local education authority to work solely at another school as from that date, or

(ii) has been withdrawn from work at the school with effect as from that date.

(4) A person who before the date of implementation of the proposals has been appointed or assigned by the local education authority to work at the school as from that date shall be treated for the purposes of this section as if he had been employed by the authority immediately before that date to do such work at the school as he would have been required to do on or after that date under his contract of employment with the authority.

(5) In subsections (6) and (7) “former employer”—

(a) in relation to a person to whom this section applies by virtue of subsection (1)(a), means the governing body of the school immediately before the date of implementation of the proposals, and

(b) in relation to a person to whom this section applies by virtue of subsection (1)(b), means the local education authority.

(6) The contract of employment between a person to whom this section applies and his former employer shall have effect from the date of implementation of the proposals as if originally made between him and the governing body of the grant-maintained school.

(7) Without prejudice to subsection (6)—

(a) all the former employer’s rights, powers, duties and liabilities under or in connection with the contract of employment shall by virtue of this section be transferred to the governing body of the grant-maintained school on the date of implementation of the proposals, and

(b) anything done before that date by or in relation to the former employer in respect of that contract or the employee shall be deemed from that date to have been done by or in relation to that governing body.

(8) Subsections (6) and (7) are without prejudice to any right of an employee to terminate his contract of employment if a substantial change is made to his detriment in his working conditions, but no such right shall arise by reason only of the change in employer effected by this section.

(9) An order under this section may designate a person either individually or as a member of a class or description of employees.