Created on: 11 Mar 2026
Q1. Why am I being called out on Targeted Strike for two days of strike action starting week beginning 16th March?
The statutory ballot that closed on 4th March generated a lawful mandate to take both strike action and action short of strike action (ASOS). This guidance focuses on the targeted strike action only.
We are entering a period of industrial action because negotiations with the Scottish Government/COSLA have not yet resulted in an acceptable resolution to our workload dispute focused on promised class contact time reduction and associated additional permanent teaching jobs.
Hopefully, the threat of industrial action, including this targeted strike action (and the national ASOS), will focus the minds of both national and local politicians to generate a solution.
Targeted strike action is a way of applying maximum pressure on the Scottish Government and COSLA decision-makers in order to expedite the resolution of the dispute.
The week beginning 16th March is the first week possible by law as we are required to give 10 days’ notice of industrial action.
The strike action ends on 25th March because the following day the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament go into purdah for 6 weeks before the election. The Scottish Government cannot make any major decisions during this period – potentially including in relation to our dispute.
All EIS members who are teachers and employed by the Local Authority in the targeted areas will be called out on specified dates of strike action.
The only members of the targeted Local Association that will not be on strike are those members who have a different employer – such as an independent school or those who are IMTs, Ed Psychs or QIOs (as they do not have contractual teaching time of 22.5 hours).
Yes, you should. Trade unions are democratic bodies and act for the collective good. The ballot was carried out independently and in accordance with legal processes. The result reflects the membership's democratic will.
By taking part in the action, you will be helping to deliver a faster resolution to the dispute, and this will be in the interests of all teachers.
Yes, because the EIS carried out a lawful statutory ballot for strike action that was overseen by an independent scrutineer and obtained a lawful mandate to pursue industrial action.
Furthermore, the EIS has issued the required statutory notice for industrial action to your employer and complied with all the steps required to call lawful strike action.
Any industrial action is a breach of contract as you are withholding your labour. However, your breach of contract (i.e. strike action) is protected by law as the EIS has obtained a lawful strike mandate to pursue the stated industrial action.
You can’t be legally dismissed for taking strike action, if:
Put simply, as this is a lawful industrial action, you cannot be dismissed for taking part.
Q7b. Can I be disciplined for taking part in strike action?
In 2024 the Supreme Court found that disciplining a person for participating in lawful strike action was unlawful as it breached their human rights.
This caselaw makes it effectively unlawful for employers to discipline staff for taking part in lawful industrial action. For the avoidance of doubt, the EIS is conducting lawful industrial action, therefore members cannot be lawfully disciplined for taking part in this industrial action- either ASOS or strike.
No. Your service is not broken or reset by carrying out strike action.
You do not, however, accrue service on days of strike action – in effect, your service will be paused on the day before the strike and resumed the day after the strike without a break, i.e. it is not reset.
Whilst your time is your own on a strike day, we hope you will join a picket line in the morning.
The local association may arrange campaign activities after a picket line, encouraging as many members as possible to take part – such as strike hubs, brunches, lobbies, local rallies, etc.
Picket lines are important as they provide a visible expression of the strike action to both school staff, the public and the employer. We encourage every workplace to mount a picket line.
According to the Code of Practice: “The only purposes of picketing declared lawful in statute are:
In reality, picketing forms several other functions too:
Yes, we do, it may be found on our website here.
Q12. My school branch does not have a rep. Who would arrange our picket?
Your branch should make arrangements to set up its own picket line – arrange a start time such around 8.00am and decide where at your place of work to hold it. Pickets usually end around 9.30am.
If your school is not mounting a picket line, you may be better to join another picket line near your school.
You should contact your LA Secretary.
Yes, we will be, but we also encourage members to put their own stamp on the picketing and produce their own! Look back to photos of the 2022 Pay Attention strikes for inspiration!
For example, bring coffee/tea, biscuits, pet dogs, etc.
Picket lines are positive and affirmative places to be, where workers are proudly taking action in accordance with the law in pursuit of a just and fair aim to reduce workload and to create extra jobs – to benefit pupils and teachers in the long run.
Ideally, you should self-organise and set up a meeting yourselves to agree on picketing arrangements on the two targeted strike days.
Contact your Local Association Secretary or Organiser if you have any specific queries.
Q16. As a teacher, I believe that striking disrupts pupils’ learning and should be avoided at all costs.
The EIS only carries out strike action as a last resort.
Ultimately, despite a Scottish Government and COSLA agreement to implement the Scottish Government’s manifesto promise, and several years passing, they have yet to reduce teachers' workload and create extra teacher jobs as promised.
The EIS believes that fairer levels of workload and more teachers in our schools to share the workload will benefit pupils and teachers in the long-run.
Q17. Do I get Strike Pay and how much will each strike day cost me?
EIS strike pay will be paid as the first phase involves targeted strike action in certian local authorities, as part of a national campaign. EIS strike pay will cover 100% of your net daily pay that is deducted. We will email members directly with strike pay reimbursement details.
Yes, if you are contracted to work on a strike day.
Q19. I am a supply teacher, and I was not given a ballot paper in the recent statutory ballot – should I go on strike too?
Yes, legally we could only ballot you if you had advised us that you were working at the time of the ballot or when the strike action was scheduled. The strike mandate produced by the ballot applies to all EIS members working in schools and paid on SNCT teacher scales including supply teachers who are due to be working on strike days.
The mandate will also apply to new EIS members, i.e. those who joined after the statutory ballot.
No, no member taking strike action will be paid by their employer on a strike day. However, members undertaking this targeted strike action will receive strike pay equivalent to 100% of their net pay.
Q21. I have a job share, and the strike day is my day of work. Will I lose my day’s pay, whilst my job share partner will not?
Yes, you may lose pay whilst your job share partner does not on this first day. Other strike days will be rotated, so it will likely average out by the end.
However, strike pay will be paid in this targeted action, which means that neither of the job share partners will suffer a pay detriment.
Yes, members can apply for an exemption, and if granted, they will not be required to engage in the strike action.
We will provide an automatic exemption for all members who are less than 23 weeks pregnant on any strike day as participation could impact their Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP).
For strike action scheduled to take place in March 2026, this exemption will apply to any pregnant member who has an expected date of childbirth on or after 4th July 2026 or any member who will adopt or have a surrogate baby on or after 4th July 2026 as set out below.
If this applies to you, you can request confirmation of exemption.
We may also provide exemptions for members who have arranged trips (residential or day) for which pupils have already paid or for members who have pre-approved special leave arising from personal circumstances, for example, to attend a funeral.
For all exemptions (other than those related to maternity/adoption/surrogacy) please apply online.
Exemptions can only be granted by a trade union and have no legal or contractual status.
If you decide to use your exemption, you will have to report to work in the way that has been advised by your Council/Head Teacher for those not engaging in strike action. Your confirmation of exemption can be shared with your colleagues/School Rep at your own discretion.
Teachers’ Occupational Maternity Pay and SMP are paid according to a pregnant worker’s average weekly wage in the 8 weeks preceding 15 weeks before the EWC (expected week of childbirth).
It is unclear whether employers will calculate maternity pay on notional or actual salary but to ensure that affected members are protected, an exemption will be provided to those who have an EWC from 4th July 2026 onwards.
For EWCs before 4th July it would be the January and February pay that would be used to calculate SMP.
So, these are the relevant dates to cover the proposed strike days from 16th March onwards.
The same principle applies to adoption leave and surrogate leave – any member expecting to adopt or start surrogacy leave from 4th July 2026 is entitled to an exemption.
The EIS position on exemptions for maternity/adoption/surrogacy is based on the fact that strike action from the w/b 16th March 2026 may have a disproportionate effect on leave pay for those members with an EWC, adoption or surrogacy on or after 4th July 2026.
A full-time teacher at the top of the main grade scale, for example, could potentially lose around £21 per week in SMP payments in the first 6 weeks of their maternity leave.
It is not for your employer or SMT to determine whether you apply for/use an exemption. It is a personal decision.
If your EWC is before 4th July 2026, there will be no impact on your maternity leave or pay entitlement and you will not be eligible for an exemption from participation in strike action. This is because your maternity pay has already passed the point at which it is calculated.
You should be on strike and refuse to do any work-related activity for that half of the day.
For all other exemptions, please apply here.
For example, exemptions will normally be provided for members who have arranged trips (residential or day) for which pupils have already paid or who have pre-approved special leave arising from personal circumstances, for example, to attend a funeral.
If you decide to use your exemption, you will have to report to work in the way that has been advised by your Council/Head Teacher for those not engaging in strike action. Your confirmation of exemption can be shared with your colleagues/School Rep at your own discretion.
Q25b. Can my Council apply for an exemption for me or my establishment?
No, only individual members may apply for an exemption.
Exemptions, other than for maternity/adoption leave are rarely granted as they undermine collective action based on a democratic vote independently scrutinised under some of the toughest legal thresholds in Europe.
Q25c. I work in an ASN unit and am concerned for the pupils if there is strike action. Can my colleagues and I apply for an exemption?
All members may apply for an exemption, but they are rarely given for whole establishments. The employer has a legal duty of care for the pupils and must make alternative provisions for them.
Workers, including doctors and nurses, have a right to strike and participate in industrial action, including teachers who teach vulnerable pupils.
Q26. I have been told that members who are about to retire are exempt from strike action.
No, there is no strike exemption issued based on imminent retirement or pension access.
All employed members currently accrue pension benefits in a CARE (Career Average Revalued Earning) STPS scheme administered by the SPPA, and each member will lose the pension amount corresponding to each day of strike action.
The pension loss is small. For a top of the main-scale teacher, each strike day will lead to a pension reduction of around £3.16 per year.
Members in service before 2015 may have a "final salary" pension element under the previous STSS scheme administered by the SPPA. The pension accrued in this will be unaffected by strike action as there is no more service accrual for this.
The Scottish Public Pensions Agency offers no facility to access pensions in this way.
The earliest teachers can take benefits from the scheme is when they reach the age of 55, unless they are granted ill-health retirement benefits.
No, the SPPA will not allow this.
No.
Q30. What are the other teacher trade unions doing/ Why aren’t we out on strike with other trade unions?
No other trade union has an industrial action mandate to pursue this dispute on reducing workload- none of them will be on strike. Two other unions balloted their members but failed to gain a mandate.
All trade unions on the Teachers’ Side of the SNCT support the current dispute and believe that the Scottish Government and COSLA must honour the promises they have made to cut workload and create jobs.
Q31. Will the other trade union members or other staff pick up my work on a strike day?
No, other trade unions advise their members not to pick up work done by a striking worker.
Being on strike means that you should not do any work that day including attending any meeting such as a parents' evening.
Your School rep will negotiate, via a Working Time Agreement mechanism, an alternative time/date for a parents’ evening with the Headteacher that they are happy with.
If there is a congested timetable of events within the “remaining time” then another planned event will need to be cancelled to allow for the re-arranged parents' evening.
Login to MyEIS via the EIS website and update your details.
Yes, since probationers are teachers employed by the Local Authority and their pay and conditions are determined by the SNCT.
Q35. Will the strike action affect my completion of the Teacher Induction Scheme or the Flexible Route (i.e. probationary period)?
It should not do so; if there is a risk that it will be affected, owing to exceptionally high rates of absence due to other factors, then we would grant such probationers an exemption.
The TIS allows probationer teachers to be considered for Full Registration with GTCS within one school year (190 teaching days). Over this period, it is acknowledged that a probationer may be absent from school for a range of reasons, such as maternity or paternity leave, illness or jury duty.
Provided the probationer does not miss more than 20 days of their placement, they can still successfully complete probation and be eligible for full registration with GTCS.
It is clear, therefore, that for the majority of probationers, participation in the planned strike action will not affect the completion of the TIS.
However, some probationers, who are nearing the 20 day absence limit, may be particularly anxious about taking industrial action as this would increase their absence rate.
We want to reassure those members that the Institute will not jeopardise their position and will automatically grant an exemption from participation in these circumstances.
We would also advise probationer teachers to closely monitor their absence levels throughout the industrial action and to contact strike@eis.org.uk seeking an exemption if they are concerned that they are approaching the 20 day absence limit.
Similarly, if any probationer teachers are following the flexible route and are nearing the five year deadline for completion, please contact strike@eis.org.uk seeking an exemption.
Q36. If I join the EIS before the strike would I be included in the strike mandate – i.e. could I strike and be protected by the EIS mandate?
If you join the EIS with a completed online form, then membership kicks in the following working day.
If you join the EIS by or on March 16th then you will be covered by our strike mandate for the following day's strike action.
No, EIS members who are supply teachers will also be called on to strike (i.e. to refuse work) on strike days. No EIS member should do work normally done by an EIS member who is on strike.
No EIS member could be reasonably asked or instructed by a local authority to strike- break for another EIS member.
No, we’ve given Councils the information required by law; the number of members per workplace who are teachers (inc Principal, Headteachers etc) and who are associated professionals but not named members.
No, you should not inform your school of your intention to take strike action. The EIS has already given notice with all the required information to your employer – there is nothing else any individual member needs to do.
Q40. I am a Headteacher and keyholder for my school, should I advise the Council or arrange for a colleague to be a temporary keyholder?
The EIS has already given notice with all the required information to your employer – there is nothing else any individual member needs to do.
As a keyholder, you may choose to inform your Council, however, you are not legally required to make any personal notification to the Council as you are covered by the EIS strike notice given to your Council.
You should not make alternative arrangements for the "key", as this may undermine the strike and it is for your Council to make any alternative arrangements.
Q41. I am being asked by the local authority to prepare remote/online learning activities for pupils to undertake from home on the strike day. Is this acceptable?
As a striking worker, you cannot be asked to put measures in place to compensate for the fact that you will be withdrawing your labour on the strike day.
Colleagues who are not striking should not be asked to deliver learning and teaching from home. A strike day is not a national crisis of the kind of the pandemic and all covid-related provisions have been withdrawn. Teachers cannot be directed to use their homes as workplaces.
Regardless, teachers or other staff who are not on strike, should not be asked to carry out duties that would otherwise have been undertaken by striking colleagues. This includes teaching pupils who are not in their usual classes. This applies whether working in school buildings, at home or another place of a teacher’s choosing.
If you are asked by your employer after the strike if you carried out strike action then you should say "yes", but only after the strike.
Teachers can answer pupils’ questions and provide factual information on the dispute and strike action. Care must be taken to ensure that pupils are not being asked to take "sides" in the dispute.
It is unlawful for trade unions to discipline members for breaking trade union solidarity by refusing to strike.
Q45. Will the day of strike action affect my paternity pay/leave?
No, there will be no effect on paternity pay/leave entitlement.
Students are not Council employees and thus are exempted from the strike. If school buildings are open, student teachers should attend in the usual way but should not be asked to, nor should they, undertake duties of striking colleagues.
If school buildings are closed and student teachers are working from a place of their choosing, they should not be asked to, nor should they, undertake the duties of striking colleagues.
The EIS would expect that during strike days, student teachers will work on planning lessons, their student profiles and any relevant course assignments. Students should also check with their TEIs.
Q47. I am a trainee educational psychologist undertaking the MSc or the QEP (Qualification in Educational Psychology) and a member of the EIS. How does the strike affect me?
No, as you are not employed as a teacher.
No, as this dispute does not include IMTs or QIOs or other SNCT associated professionals who do not have 22.5 hours weekly teaching time in their contracts which is the main focus of this dispute.
Q49. I am an IMT/QIO/EdPsych and have not been called out on strike action. How can I support my colleagues in this strike action?
We would encourage you to send messages of support and to either visit a picket line before work, or if you have to walk past an EIS picket line to stop to express solidarity and support – but explain that you have not been called out on strike action as you are not affected by this dispute.
Q50. I have been granted an exemption from striking but would like to donate to the Strike Hardship Fund to support the wider action. How should I do this?
You can make donations to the Strike Hardship Fund by paying into a designated EIS Bank Account with Unity Trust Bank (Sort Code: 60-83-01 Account Number: 20315704). Please include your name and/or EIS number in the description field for your payment.
Q51. Do I need to pay tax on Strike Pay or Strike Hardship or otherwise record it on a tax return?
No - these amounts are not taxable or reportable to HMRC.
Q52. Why is there targeted strike action and ASOS happening at the same time?
The purpose of industrial action is to put pressure on the employers to make an agreement to resolve the dispute. A coordinated programme of industrial action has been developed and referenced in the ballot paper to that effect- a mix of ASOS and strike action.
We think it is important to have a base layer of national industrial action of ASOS, and for it to be complemented and strengthened by targeted strike action. This may escalate over time to national strike action.
We have separate members’ guidance on ASOS, with a FAQ. It may be found here.