Can a medical cert cover just a few classes?

gaiscioch

I've a quick question. If a teacher has to have a medical appointment and that appointment will mean they are out of the school for 2-3 hours, will the DoE cover their replacement in school for that time if they have a medical cert? (the teacher is paid by the DoE)

I've been told by the school that the DoE will only cover an absence for a whole day, and that the teacher must therefore arrange for a replacement teacher (unpaid or paid by the teacher, of course) to cover her/his classes if they will only miss a part of the day. Rationally, I find this hard to believe given that the teacher could explain the situation to the doctor etc and get a med cert for the entire day just as easily as one for the required time. Could somebody clarify what the situation is? Thanks.

solerina

Anyone in my school that takes time for medical appointments etc just gets a cert for the entire day whether they need it for 1 class or the entire day.

theLuggage

The DoE system only recognises full days of leave, which as you point out is ridiculous.

Delphi91

I work for an ETB and when I record teacher absences, I've been able to record certified absences for parts of a day - a teacher who goes to a hospital for an appointment and returns for half the day, etc. I've been advised just to send an email to the personnel section and they look after the rest.

gaiscioch

Unbelievable. There's no rhyme nor reason to what the geniuses in the DoE decide. Rather than imposing on colleagues to do you a favour by covering your classes (even when you have a cert for the missing classes), it's much less hassle to get the medical cert for the entire day, go home, do nothing and get paid for it even though you want to go back to work.

Next 2 hour break to visit the dentist - med cert for entire day. Next 2-hour break to go to doctor - med cert for entire day...

gaiscioch

Delphi91 wrote: »

I work for an ETB and when I record teacher absences, I've been able to record certified absences for parts of a day - a teacher who goes to a hospital for an appointment and returns for half the day, etc. I've been advised just to send an email to the personnel section and they look after the rest.

That sounds like a much more intelligent way of doing it. So if an ETB is doing this, what would be the logic behind the DoE refusing to do it this way? (as the two posters above say is also the situation in their schools)

byhookorbycrook

Logic and DES don't really go together.