ISM Column: Fighting for your rights

The ISM's latest report The case for change: the music education workforce in 2022 sits alongside Music: A subject in peril?, published in March 2022, which explored classroom provision and what music teachers wanted to see in the refreshed National Plan for Music Education (NPME).

Alongside the issues of funding and accountability measures, we know that there are significant challenges facing the workforce, which could hamper delivery of the refreshed NPME. The case for change focuses on the peripatetic instrumental and vocal workforce as well as academics working in Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE) who have faced increasing casualisation for more than 20 years as a result of government policy, changing business models, and funding cuts.

The gradual withdrawal of centrally funded provision to both Local Authority (LA) music services and FE and HE institutions has led to a need to cut costs and look for additional income sources. Staff have often borne the brunt of these money-saving measures, with full-time employment and its associated legal rights and entitlements being replaced with less secure contracts and weaker terms and conditions.

Our report draws on several different sources with the combined data representing over 1,200 peripatetic teachers’ views and experiences of working in schools across the UK. Interviews were also held with academics working in FE and HE.

‘Often taken for granted’

The case for change highlights the impact of casualisation on the music education workforce. Increased casualisation has resulted in confusion regarding employment status and has negatively affected rates of pay and terms and conditions. The workforce feel they suffer from a lack of professional respect and a huge amount of insecurity, which was made more evident during the pandemic.

The results show that 15 per cent of responding peripatetic teachers are unsure of their employment status, meaning they could be missing out on legal rights and entitlements. Many peripatetic teachers reported that there had been no pay increase for several years, and that for many there is no recognition of qualifications or experience when it comes to pay. They undertake a significant amount of unpaid work, often in the form of administrative tasks, but also as a result of large gaps in their teaching days because of constraints placed on them by schools as to when they teach.

Both peripatetic teachers and academics reported a lack of professional respect. This ranged from feeling undervalued and poorly treated in schools to waiting months or longer to be paid for freelance work at universities. They also reported a significant amount of insecurity, particularly in relation to contracts, with the survey data showing that 72 per cent of peripatetic respondents were on a zero-hours contract. This created a great deal of uncertainty in addition to financial insecurity, which has huge implications for housing, childcare and being able to pay bills.

Overall, vital members of the music education workforce are often being taken for granted, treated differently depending on which part of the country they live and work in, and are subject to weaker terms and conditions as a result of increasing casualisation.

No more confusion over holiday pay

The case for change presents a series of recommendations and suggestions for best practice which organisations can adopt to support their staff. Freelancers and the self-employed face a range of challenges that are not experienced by salaried staff, and organisations should acknowledge this and ensure that they are not subject to unfair working practices or non-consensual self-employment. More equitable contractual practices are needed, and contractual stability should be a core organisational objective. Organisations should commit to a level of pay that reflects staff qualifications and experience and which allows for progression. Staff should be fully supported to access Continuing Professional Development (CPD) regularly and given opportunities for reducing professional isolation.

The landmark Supreme Court ruling on 20 July 2022 in the case of ISM member Lesley Brazel, a visiting music teacher working for the Harpur Trust, also means that the amount of leave which part-year workers on a permanent contract are entitled to must not be pro-rated. The ISM has supported Brazel throughout the case since being approached for legal advice in 2013, and we have always maintained that holiday pay should be calculated by taking the average weekly pay and multiplying it by 5.6. As a result of the Supreme Court ruling and its backing of our interpretation of the law, there can now be no confusion as to how holiday pay is calculated.

Peripatetic instrumental teachers and academic staff are a vital part of the wider music education ecosystem and contribute enormously to the pipeline of creative talent in our world-renowned music industry, and yet they are being taken for granted. Without a qualified, secure, and fully supported workforce, properly remunerated for their skills, experience, and expertise, the ambitious aims of the refreshed National Plan for Music Education risk falling at the first hurdle.

www.ism.org/news/case_for_change