AG to rule on legal issue over filling of school posts
- Published: 07 July 2005
THE Attorney General has been asked to decide urgently if it is legal for schools to fill promotion posts partly on the basis of seniority.
This follows a strong warning that the existing procedures discriminate against women and favour men.
If the Attorney General agrees, it will mean new procedures for promotions in all schools. It could also have implications for promotion posts in areas of the wider public service where seniority counts.
At present, all special duties posts and assistant principal posts in voluntary secondary schools are filled on the basis of seniority. In vocational and community schools 30pc of the marks are allocated to seniority, the remainder to suitability and qualifications.
In primary schools experience gained through length of service in the school is one of three criteria used.
The possible legal crux was first spotted following an equality audit by the Kerry Education Service run by the county's VEC. It said "the current system for added marks due to seniority is seen to favour men." It recommended a review of the operation of seniority as a criterion.
In many schools men have a disproportionate number of promotion posts, even though they are outnumbered by women. The argument is that women lose out because they tend to take more time off for career breaks, maternity leave or for job sharing.
The argument is that the seniority criterion indirectly discriminates against women but this is strongly disputed by the Teachers' Union of Ireland.
The matter was raised at the Irish Vocational Education Association annual conference and by the Association at the most recent meeting of the Teachers' Conciliation Council. It is understood the Department of Education and Science agreed there were possible concerns and referred the matter to the Attorney General's office.
Initially the Attorney General's office is being asked if it is safe to continue to use the existing procedures as an interim measure, pending reflection on the broader use of seniority in promotion.
