Support staff at the Sixth Form College, Solihull, will have their pay over the last six years revised after union Unison argued the term-time staff had been treated less favourably than their full-time colleagues.

Administrative staff, career advisors, science and art technicians and library assistants working for the college will now receive eight days of additional pay a year, after the college agreed to revise the formula used to calculate their holiday allowance and pay the adjusted rate, backdated for six years.

Unison negotiated the claims on behalf of 14 members of staff employed on term-time contracts. Library assistant Julie Robinson first identified the problem in 2017.

‘Check payslips’

Unison national education officer Ben Thomas said: “This case shows how important it is for people to check their payslips and not just trust that their employer is paying them correctly.

“This victory comes hot on the heels of the successful six-year battle to win fair pay for thousands of low-paid term-time school workers across Greenwich in south east London.

“Unison is committed to fighting for fair wages and if other employers have made similar holiday pay errors, we’ll be on to them to make sure all staff are getting what they’re due.”   

College principal Martin Sullivan said: “The college has a good relationship with the unions and we worked with the them to resolve the bank holiday pay issue for term time support staff once it had been identified.”