A Standard Circular is a document produced by the Council in order to provide a framework or protocol to take forward a specific issue. For example, you are familiar with EAC’s SC57 Child Protection which outlines the meaning of CP, everyone’s responsibilities and how to progress any CP concerns within an establishment.
There may or may not be legal ramifications of a Council protocol, depending on the subject matter. Trade unions may or may not have been consulted on the contents of a Standard Circular.
If consultation has occurred the Council may or may not have accepted any proposed amendments. A Standard Circular may be updated by the Council at any time, particularly if new legislation comes into force.
A Joint Circular is a document produced by the Council in partnership with trade union colleagues at local level. The contents have been agreed by all parties.
Joint Circulars which are relevant solely to teachers are ratified by the Council’s Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers (JNCT) as a body of Cabinet. Other groups’ circulars are agreed at Cabinet.
A Joint Circular does not "expire" or become null and void, unless another specific agreement is reached by the JNCT on the same particular matter and the terms of the previous agreement are overridden.
Joint Circulars cannot be ignored or overridden by the employer simply because they do not consider them convenient at any given point in time.
Some of you are confused by wording of policies, documents and memos which state that they have been "agreed" or unions consulted. Unless the document is a Joint Circular it has not formally been agreed by teaching unions as it would go through the JNCT mechanism if this was the case.
The majority of a teacher’s terms and conditions of service are agreed by the SNCT (nationally). Local arrangements can only be negotiated by the JNCT on matters which have been specifically devolved, or on rare occasions a national matter may be renegotiated locally if the new terms are considered better than existing terms and all parties are in agreement.
Joint Circulars should also be accessible on the SNCT website.
National and devolved matters are defined as follows:
National Matters
Pay (including related allowances)
The working week and working year
Annual leave entitlement
Class size
Sick leave
Maternity/family leave
National and local recognition procedures
Main duties
Staff development framework
Notice periods
Devolved Matters
Other allowances
Particulars of employment
Expenses of candidates for appointment
Promotion procedures
Staff development arrangements
Specific duties and job remits
Arrangements for school based consultation
Housing
Indemnification procedures
Other
