Apologies if this sort of thing has been posed before; I'm new to the NG.
Apologies too for the complexity and length of my post.

I am, based in Scotland and, by trade, a video programme producer and
photographer. I've worked in that profession for many years and for the last
ten or so on a freelance basis under a trade name. In May 2001 I was offered
the opportunity to lecture part-time on a temporary basis. The College being
fully aware of my freelance work. That part-time teaching commitment has
varied over the years with the demands of time-tabling. However, where gaps
have appeared in my teaching timetable these have always been designed in
such a way as not to seriously impede my freelance work. i.e. I've always
been scheduled to have some complete days off (on which I can run my
business) or I've been on a full-time or very close to full-time schedule.

In October of last year I was granted partial permanency; 0.5
Full-time-equivalent. My contract does not show any specific hours.
Curiously, though it says I am only a 0.5FTE it states my salary at the full
rate and my normal hours of duty as "35 per week, to be worked as directed
by the service" (nothing about 'pro-rata'). In fact I've been paid my basic
salary at half the full-time rate and my basic hours have been calculated at
17.5. For part of last year I was working four days a week. Timetable
changes brought that down to 3 and again the timetable was structured in
order to accommodate my freelance work.

I should also perhaps mention that I live over 40 miles from the college.
The round trip is two hours and costs me £10. The relevance of this will
become clear shortly...

This year has been a troubled one at work. About three weeks ago a small
group of colleagues felt the need to approach our head-of-department with
concerns over the performance of a Senior lecturer; our line-manager. The
following week my year-end personal development interview was so 'tense'
that I felt the need to approach my H.O.D. again with the request that some
other member of senior staff conduct these interviews with me in the future.
The following week again, at a course committee meeting, I felt very much
under attack to the point where I (for the second time in ten days)
considered resigning. Another senior lecturer is responsible for
time-tabling. He and my direct line manager run our 'section' together and
therefore work closely together. In fact I believe they have a working
relationship in terms of their own freelance work. He, of course, attended
that meeting.

Due to a gaff by someone in admin next year looks like it is to be a lean
one; applications are down, places are empty, some courses won't run. Those
on temporary contracts will possibly loose their jobs. Those of us with any
degree of permanency will be on basic hours. This is of course beyond the
control of the managers and I am prepared to accept that I'll have to earn
half next year's income by freelancing.BUT..

A colleague had caught sight of the timetables in preparation for next. He'd
glanced mine and warned me that it was "all over the place". At which I
emailed the time-tabler advising him of my other work commitments (which he
knew already) and that I wouldn't be able to work such a schedule..

The College has broken up for the summer, and almost on the very last hour
of the very last day I was presented with next term's timetable. Odd hours
are peppered over the five days of the week. On one particular day I'm
teaching from 9-10 then again from 4-5. Other days are arranged such that
even if I could afford the to-ing and fro-ing from my home to the college it
would be physically impossible to do so. And with the lack of any 'clear'
days in the week it would be an impossibility for me to carry out any
production work on behalf of my own clients. The expense would be a problem
too. On half pay those travelling cost would eat up almost 1/4 of my net
monthy income!

Naturally this has upset me and is frankly ruining my holiday. I have barely
slept in a week for worrying. I tried to approach my H.O.D. but his attitude
was very much 'leave it 'till after the holidays'. All very well for him to
say; it's not his livelihood at stake nor his house! And the financial
implications of this timetable is that it would cripple me. Whist I attach
no blame to my H.O.D. I do feel this timetable has been deliberately
constructed to cause me personal distress and as such constitutes
harassment.

Effectively this new timetable prevents me from carrying out my other work.
I cannot feed my family on half-a-wage and NEED to earn the rest of my
living elsewhere.. What really puts the tin hat on it all is that the
person responsible for setting out that timetable also runs a video
production Company. And by setting out my contracted hours at the college in
such a manner has effectively shut down a competitor..

Caught between a rock and a hard place. To get back to earning a living
full-time as a freelancer will take 18 months to 2 years. I am now
financially dependant on the partial salary I get from the college AND CAN'T
AFFORD TO RESIGN!. But nor can I live on that money alone.

I'm hoping that on the return to work in August the matter will be resolved.
But I am not 100% hopeful that this will be the case and want to research
NOW what my possible options are. DO I have a case against the college in
terms of restraint of trade? Or possibly the time-tabler himself as he has
business interests that conflict with mine?

Or, if I were forced to resign, might I have a case for constructive
dismissal? I would like to approach my union before returning to work; but
knowing them they sometimes need lead by the nose along a particular train
of thought. SO I thought I needed to do some research.Obviously I know
little of the law having never studied the subject; but I came across these
two references

{{{ All interference with the individual' s liberty of action in trading,
and all restraints of trade themselves if there is nothing more, is contrary
to public policy and therefore prima facie void (Nordenfelt v. Maxim
Nordenfelt Guns & Ammunition Co. Ltd [1894] A.C. 535, HL.) }}}

{{{ A restraint is ". Any contract which interferes with the free
exercise of his trade or business, by restricting the work he may do for
other" ..Lord Denning M.R. in Petrofina (Great Britain) Ltd v. Martin [1966]
Ch. 169. }}}


Thoughts and advice would be very much appreciated...

TIA
Matt

LaoFuZhi wrote:

Apologies if this sort of thing has been posed before; I'm new to the N=
G.
Apologies too for the complexity and length of my post.
=20
I am, based in Scotland and, by trade, a video programme producer and
photographer. I've worked in that profession for many years and for the=
last
ten or so on a freelance basis under a trade name. In May 2001 I was of=
fered
the opportunity to lecture part-time on a temporary basis. The College =
being
fully aware of my freelance work. That part-time teaching commitment ha=
s
varied over the years with the demands of time-tabling. However, where =
gaps
have appeared in my teaching timetable these have always been designed =
in
such a way as not to seriously impede my freelance work. i.e. I've alwa=
ys
been scheduled to have some complete days off (on which I can run my
business) or I've been on a full-time or very close to full-time schedu=
le.
=20
In October of last year I was granted partial permanency; 0.5
Full-time-equivalent. My contract does not show any specific hours.
Curiously, though it says I am only a 0.5FTE it states my salary at the=
full
rate and my normal hours of duty as "35 per week, to be worked as direc=
ted
by the service" (nothing about 'pro-rata'). In fact I've been paid my =
basic
salary at half the full-time rate and my basic hours have been calculat=
ed at
17.5. For part of last year I was working four days a week. Timetable
changes brought that down to 3 and again the timetable was structured i=
n
order to accommodate my freelance work.
=20
I should also perhaps mention that I live over 40 miles from the colleg=
e.
The round trip is two hours and costs me =C2=A310. The relevance of thi=
s will
become clear shortly...
=20
This year has been a troubled one at work. About three weeks ago a smal=
l
group of colleagues felt the need to approach our head-of-department wi=
th
concerns over the performance of a Senior lecturer; our line-manager. T=
he
following week my year-end personal development interview was so 'tense=
'
that I felt the need to approach my H.O.D. again with the request that =
some
other member of senior staff conduct these interviews with me in the fu=
ture.
The following week again, at a course committee meeting, I felt very mu=
ch
under attack to the point where I (for the second time in ten days)
considered resigning. Another senior lecturer is responsible for
time-tabling. He and my direct line manager run our 'section' together =
and
therefore work closely together. In fact I believe they have a working
relationship in terms of their own freelance work. He, of course, atten=
ded
that meeting.
=20
Due to a gaff by someone in admin next year looks like it is to be a le=
an
one; applications are down, places are empty, some courses won't run. T=
hose
on temporary contracts will possibly loose their jobs. Those of us with=
any
degree of permanency will be on basic hours. This is of course beyond t=
he
control of the managers and I am prepared to accept that I'll have to e=
arn
half next year's income by freelancing.BUT..
=20
A colleague had caught sight of the timetables in preparation for next.=
He'd
glanced mine and warned me that it was "all over the place". At which I=

emailed the time-tabler advising him of my other work commitments (whic=
h he
knew already) and that I wouldn't be able to work such a schedule..
=20
The College has broken up for the summer, and almost on the very last =
hour
of the very last day I was presented with next term's timetable. Odd ho=
urs
are peppered over the five days of the week. On one particular day I'm
teaching from 9-10 then again from 4-5. Other days are arranged such th=
at
even if I could afford the to-ing and fro-ing from my home to the colle=
ge it
would be physically impossible to do so. And with the lack of any 'clea=
r'
days in the week it would be an impossibility for me to carry out any
production work on behalf of my own clients. The expense would be a pro=
blem
too. On half pay those travelling cost would eat up almost 1/4 of my ne=
t
monthy income!
=20
Naturally this has upset me and is frankly ruining my holiday. I have b=
arely
slept in a week for worrying. I tried to approach my H.O.D. but his att=
itude
was very much 'leave it 'till after the holidays'. All very well for hi=
m to
say; it's not his livelihood at stake nor his house! And the financial
implications of this timetable is that it would cripple me. Whist I at=
tach
no blame to my H.O.D. I do feel this timetable has been deliberately
constructed to cause me personal distress and as such constitutes
harassment.
=20
Effectively this new timetable prevents me from carrying out my other w=
ork.
I cannot feed my family on half-a-wage and NEED to earn the rest of my
living elsewhere.. What really puts the tin hat on it all is that the=

person responsible for setting out that timetable also runs a video
production Company. And by setting out my contracted hours at the colle=
ge in
such a manner has effectively shut down a competitor..
=20
Caught between a rock and a hard place. To get back to earning a living=

full-time as a freelancer will take 18 months to 2 years. I am now
financially dependant on the partial salary I get from the college AND =
CAN'T
AFFORD TO RESIGN!. But nor can I live on that money alone.
=20
I'm hoping that on the return to work in August the matter will be reso=
lved.
But I am not 100% hopeful that this will be the case and want to resear=
ch
NOW what my possible options are. DO I have a case against the college=
in
terms of restraint of trade? Or possibly the time-tabler himself as he =
has
business interests that conflict with mine?
=20
Or, if I were forced to resign, might I have a case for constructive
dismissal? I would like to approach my union before returning to work; =
but
knowing them they sometimes need lead by the nose along a particular tr=
ain
of thought. SO I thought I needed to do some research.Obviously I know
little of the law having never studied the subject; but I came across t=
hese
two references
=20
{{{ All interference with the individual' s liberty of action in tra=
ding,
and all restraints of trade themselves if there is nothing more, is con=
trary
to public policy and therefore prima facie void (Nordenfelt v. Maxim
Nordenfelt Guns & Ammunition Co. Ltd [1894] A.C. 535, HL.) }}}
=20
{{{ A restraint is ". Any contract which interferes with the free
exercise of his trade or business, by restricting the work he may do fo=
r
other" ..Lord Denning M.R. in Petrofina (Great Britain) Ltd v. Martin [=
1966]
Ch. 169. }}}
=20
=20
Thoughts and advice would be very much appreciated...
=20

Having been an academic resposible for timetabling, my first=20
thoughts
are of all the many constraints that have to be considered -=20
besides staff wishes -
and that there may be other reasons for your timetable=20
having become so fragmented, besides "enemy action".
You say yourself that student numbers will be down and staff=20
hours cut which will inevitably reduce the options for the=20
timetabler. Classes that used to run and would have filled=20
up your working day and filled in your gaps may not be=20
running, leaving the gaps and leaving the timetabler trying=20
to make up your hours where he can. Students themselves may=20
only be available at certain hours and days of the week=20
because of constraints applied by other department's=20
timetabling, so cannot have their classes moved to times=20
that suit you.

It does seem that hostilities have broken out within your=20
department which might make it difficult to discuss this=20
with the timetabler. The timetabler may not be particularly=20
good at timetabling and may appreciate constructive=20
suggestions. So, why not start with the timetables,=20
especially those of the students concerned, and look to see=20
if you can do swops with other lecturers, to move the=20
lessons to more convenient groupings? Without this, the=20
timetabler could just argue that he did the best he could=20
under the circumstances.

Of course you may be right and that this may be a plot by=20
the evil empire to get rid of you. But never put down to=20
design what can be explained by incompetence!

--=20

Sue

"LaoFuZhi" has difficulties with his timetable;

Sorry that this is not a legal answer but merely a few observations.

Timetabling is difficult - there are many variables not just the actual
lecturer. Such things as anticipated class size,specialized rooms and the
students timetables have also to taken into account. Whilst not impossible
I fear that it would be extremely difficult for your line-managers to
arrange a timetable for you with hours all over the place merely out of
malice - this would throw up all manner of other problems. A main
consideration is that the students should not have a timetable with hours
all over the place and sometimes the lecturers have to suffer.. I fear that
the college view will be that college considerations have priority over your
freelance work.

Even so the timetable in September could very different from the draft that
you have now. Many changes are made at the last moment when actual students
appear.


best wishes

terryw

"Palindr?me" wrote in message
...
LaoFuZhi wrote:

Apologies if this sort of thing has been posed before; I'm new to the NG.
Apologies too for the complexity and length of my post.

I am, based in Scotland and, by trade, a video programme producer and
photographer. I've worked in that profession for many years and for the
last
ten or so on a freelance basis under a trade name. In May 2001 I was
offered
the opportunity to lecture part-time on a temporary basis. The College
being
fully aware of my freelance work. That part-time teaching commitment has
varied over the years with the demands of time-tabling. However, where
gaps
have appeared in my teaching timetable these have always been designed in
such a way as not to seriously impede my freelance work. i.e. I've always
been scheduled to have some complete days off (on which I can run my
business) or I've been on a full-time or very close to full-time schedule.

In October of last year I was granted partial permanency; 0.5
Full-time-equivalent. My contract does not show any specific hours.
Curiously, though it says I am only a 0.5FTE it states my salary at the
full
rate and my normal hours of duty as "35 per week, to be worked as directed
by the service" (nothing about 'pro-rata'). In fact I've been paid my
basic
salary at half the full-time rate and my basic hours have been calculated
at
17.5. For part of last year I was working four days a week. Timetable
changes brought that down to 3 and again the timetable was structured in
order to accommodate my freelance work.

I should also perhaps mention that I live over 40 miles from the college.
The round trip is two hours and costs me £10. The relevance of this will
become clear shortly...

This year has been a troubled one at work. About three weeks ago a small
group of colleagues felt the need to approach our head-of-department with
concerns over the performance of a Senior lecturer; our line-manager. The
following week my year-end personal development interview was so 'tense'
that I felt the need to approach my H.O.D. again with the request that
some
other member of senior staff conduct these interviews with me in the
future.
The following week again, at a course committee meeting, I felt very much
under attack to the point where I (for the second time in ten days)
considered resigning. Another senior lecturer is responsible for
time-tabling. He and my direct line manager run our 'section' together and
therefore work closely together. In fact I believe they have a working
relationship in terms of their own freelance work. He, of course, attended
that meeting.

Due to a gaff by someone in admin next year looks like it is to be a lean
one; applications are down, places are empty, some courses won't run.
Those
on temporary contracts will possibly loose their jobs. Those of us with
any
degree of permanency will be on basic hours. This is of course beyond the
control of the managers and I am prepared to accept that I'll have to earn
half next year's income by freelancing.BUT..

A colleague had caught sight of the timetables in preparation for next.
He'd
glanced mine and warned me that it was "all over the place". At which I
emailed the time-tabler advising him of my other work commitments (which
he
knew already) and that I wouldn't be able to work such a schedule..

The College has broken up for the summer, and almost on the very last
hour
of the very last day I was presented with next term's timetable. Odd hours
are peppered over the five days of the week. On one particular day I'm
teaching from 9-10 then again from 4-5. Other days are arranged such that
even if I could afford the to-ing and fro-ing from my home to the college
it
would be physically impossible to do so. And with the lack of any 'clear'
days in the week it would be an impossibility for me to carry out any
production work on behalf of my own clients. The expense would be a
problem
too. On half pay those travelling cost would eat up almost 1/4 of my net
monthy income!

Naturally this has upset me and is frankly ruining my holiday. I have
barely
slept in a week for worrying. I tried to approach my H.O.D. but his
attitude
was very much 'leave it 'till after the holidays'. All very well for him
to
say; it's not his livelihood at stake nor his house! And the financial
implications of this timetable is that it would cripple me. Whist I
attach
no blame to my H.O.D. I do feel this timetable has been deliberately
constructed to cause me personal distress and as such constitutes
harassment.

Effectively this new timetable prevents me from carrying out my other
work.
I cannot feed my family on half-a-wage and NEED to earn the rest of my
living elsewhere.. What really puts the tin hat on it all is that the
person responsible for setting out that timetable also runs a video
production Company. And by setting out my contracted hours at the college
in
such a manner has effectively shut down a competitor..

Caught between a rock and a hard place. To get back to earning a living
full-time as a freelancer will take 18 months to 2 years. I am now
financially dependant on the partial salary I get from the college AND
CAN'T
AFFORD TO RESIGN!. But nor can I live on that money alone.

I'm hoping that on the return to work in August the matter will be
resolved.
But I am not 100% hopeful that this will be the case and want to research
NOW what my possible options are. DO I have a case against the college in
terms of restraint of trade? Or possibly the time-tabler himself as he has
business interests that conflict with mine?

Or, if I were forced to resign, might I have a case for constructive
dismissal? I would like to approach my union before returning to work; but
knowing them they sometimes need lead by the nose along a particular train
of thought. SO I thought I needed to do some research.Obviously I know
little of the law having never studied the subject; but I came across
these
two references

{{{ All interference with the individual' s liberty of action in
trading,
and all restraints of trade themselves if there is nothing more, is
contrary
to public policy and therefore prima facie void (Nordenfelt v. Maxim
Nordenfelt Guns & Ammunition Co. Ltd [1894] A.C. 535, HL.) }}}

{{{ A restraint is ". Any contract which interferes with the free
exercise of his trade or business, by restricting the work he may do for
other" ..Lord Denning M.R. in Petrofina (Great Britain) Ltd v. Martin
[1966]
Ch. 169. }}}


Thoughts and advice would be very much appreciated...


So, why not start with the timetables,
especially those of the students concerned, and look to see
if you can do swops with other lecturers, to move the
lessons to more convenient groupings? Without this, the
timetabler could just argue that he did the best he could
under the circumstances.

Of course you may be right and that this may be a plot by
the evil empire to get rid of you. But never put down to
design what can be explained by incompetence!

--

Sue



Thanks for the input Sue.......

There basically are other subjects running in other places that I could be
teaching. Further, in the case of the day where I have an hour either-end of
the session, that particular class is in the same room all day....
Essentially I've been displaced from subjects I've taught for two years now.
And I don't have the authority to swap with other lecturers...

LaoFuZhi wrote:

On one particular day I'm
teaching from 9-10 then again from 4-5. Other days are arranged such that
even if I could afford the to-ing and fro-ing from my home to the college
it would be physically impossible to do so.

IANAL.

This is the crux of the matter, AFAIK. The change in the timetable.

It depends - if they can show that they cannot arrange the timetable any
other way - i.e. for business reasons - then they may have a defence.

This is unlikely IMO.

If, as you suspect, it's deliberately designed to make your life difficult,
then you do have a case for constructive dismissal.

"Palindr?me" wrote in message
...
LaoFuZhi wrote:

Apologies if this sort of thing has been posed before; I'm new to the NG.
Apologies too for the complexity and length of my post.

I am, based in Scotland and, by trade, a video programme producer and
photographer. I've worked in that profession for many years and for the
last



Thoughts and advice would be very much appreciated...


Having been an academic resposible for timetabling, my first
thoughts
are of all the many constraints that have to be considered -
besides staff wishes -
and that there may be other reasons for your timetable
having become so fragmented, besides "enemy action".
You say yourself that student numbers will be down and staff
hours cut which will inevitably reduce the options for the
timetabler. Classes that used to run and would have filled
up your working day and filled in your gaps may not be
running, leaving the gaps and leaving the timetabler trying
to make up your hours where he can. Students themselves may
only be available at certain hours and days of the week
because of constraints applied by other department's
timetabling, so cannot have their classes moved to times
that suit you.

It does seem that hostilities have broken out within your
department which might make it difficult to discuss this
with the timetabler. The timetabler may not be particularly
good at timetabling and may appreciate constructive
suggestions. So, why not start with the timetables,
especially those of the students concerned, and look to see
if you can do swops with other lecturers, to move the
lessons to more convenient groupings? Without this, the
timetabler could just argue that he did the best he could
under the circumstances.

Of course you may be right and that this may be a plot by
the evil empire to get rid of you. But never put down to
design what can be explained by incompetence!

--

Sue

As a current 'Timetabler' I would agree with 'Sue's' comments but OTOH I do
as much as possible to reduce fragmentation because in our institution (a
secondary school) we would end up paying for non-teaching hours. From your
example given we would pay you from 9 to 5 (minus lunch) and calculate your
%FTE accordingly (to 3 D.Ps) taking into account any pro-rata non-teching
periods. Ultimately the effect on the budget would be such that the Head
would view my efforts with some alarm!

Nik V

LaoFuZhi wrote:

"Palindr?me" wrote in message
...
LaoFuZhi wrote:

snip description of how part time teaching hours have
been altered to make life difficult to OP

post reformatted to preserve flow

So, why not start with the timetables,
especially those of the students concerned, and look to
see if you can do swops with other lecturers, to move the
lessons to more convenient groupings? Without this, the
timetabler could just argue that he did the best he could
under the circumstances.


There basically are other subjects running in other places that I could be
teaching.
They are presumambly still being taught and /those/ teachers
need their hours too.

Further, in the case of the day where I have an hour either-end of
the session, that particular class is in the same room all day....

With teachers who need /their/ hours

Essentially I've been displaced from subjects I've taught for two years now.

It may have been the only option as the timetabler would
have to redistribute the reduced number of hours that the
reduced student body have created as a pool for all
teachers. You already said that your hours have been reduced
to a minimum. Some of the hours for the subject you taught
for the last two years may have been given to other teachers
who otherwise may not even have had that minimum.


And I don't have the authority to swap with other lecturers...

You talk to other lecturers to produce a plan of swaps that
you can then present to the timetabler/HoD. It may not
happen but, if the other lecturers have consented in theory
to the swaps taking place, then the timetabler HoD would
have to explain why the answer was, "no" if the changes
weren't accepted. You mean that this has never happened in
the past? It can be a problem when classes and resources are
linked - so to swap a music class for a physics class you
have to sort out a free music room and a free physics lab
for the requisite periods. In your case it sounds a little
simpler if most of your classes are held in a standard room.

As a timetabler, I was happy to accept worked-out swap
plans, countersigned by the staff concerned and clearly
indicating which class and staff members were where and when
and what subjects they were taking. No plan - no swap. Loose
end(s) in plan ("Oh, I'll sort that out later") - no swap.

So, if you want swaps, go out and plan them and present the
plan to the timetabler. That may be a whole lot better and
easier than going postal over it.

--

Sue

As a current 'Timetabler' I would agree with 'Sue's' comments but OTOH I
do
as much as possible to reduce fragmentation because in our institution (a
secondary school) we would end up paying for non-teaching hours. From
your
example given we would pay you from 9 to 5 (minus lunch) and calculate
your
%FTE accordingly (to 3 D.Ps) taking into account any pro-rata non-teching
periods. Ultimately the effect on the budget would be such that the Head
would view my efforts with some alarm!

Nik V


I'm grateful to all for the contributions so far.

Whilst relatively inexperienced as a lecturer I'm a reasonably experienced
manager having run video production Companies for around 16 of the 25 years
I've been in employment. One of the key skills I have is that of scheduling
and timetabling. I do appreciate the problems..

Quite apart from the day I cited where I'm shifted to each end of the day
there are others where I'm dropped in the middle of a day . I'm perfectly
capable of teaching (and have for the past two years) the full subject for
either one of those whole days. One of the subjects I have is 3/4 theory
with one small practical element that is in fact integrated with another
subject... I could teach it anywhere. Yet it's been scheduled for a lab.
when I challenged this I was told by the timetabler he was concerned with
the room being seen to be used!

Not to appear dismissive but It's my sincere belief that the timetable is
either incompetent or designed to cause me distress. I would also point out
that the college were fully appraised of my other work committments when
they took me on. And indeed have to date acommodated this.

What's distressing about my position is that while the college are
effectively forcing me to remain either inthe building or otherwise where I
can do no other work they are not paying me for that time! Were I being
asked to twiddle my thumbs on college time it would quite frankly P*** me
off. But the prospect I face is that whatever way I jump I will be unable to
pay my mortgage and feed my child. It's really THAT serious!......