Teachers accuse council of 'fire-and-rehire' plan

Self-employed swimming teacher roles have been advertised at £20 per hour on a council-run Facebook page

Swimming teachers have accused a council of "fire-and-rehire" tactics after advertising self-employed roles just days before issuing redundancy notices.

Four swimming teachers and two aerobics instructors said Medway Council confirmed in writing on 17 March they would be made redundant at the end of the month.

Workers said they were offered replacement roles which would combine their current role with other responsibilities, but if they wished to remain solely as swimming teachers this would be on a self-employed basis.

Medway Council said it had not asked the staff to return on a self-employed basis, but had made them aware of the roles.

A consultation on redundancies began in December, but was put on hold a month later.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the teachers heard nothing until they were told verbally at the start of this month they were being made redundant.

While the redundancies were confirmed on 17 March, the council-run Medway Sport Facebook page posted an advert about becoming a self-employed swimming teacher two days earlier.

The teachers, who would lose sick pay and maternity/paternity pay if they took up the £20 per hour self-employed role, said the council had "shot itself in the foot".

One teacher, who wished to remain anonymous, said the authority had decided on redundancies as far back as April last year.

They said: "The way this has been done is absolutely devastating and shambolic – at every single step they have failed to think it through and so there's been a lack of communication and consideration."

A council spokesperson said the redundancies come as part of the MedPay programme which aimed "to provide greater opportunities for career progression and pay consistency".

"As part of this, the former term-time swimming instructor and part-time and casual aerobics instructor roles no longer exist as the work is included within the pre-existing sports officer or senior sports officer roles," they said.