Part-time lecturer treated less favourably

A London employment tribunal found that part-time lecturers at the Capital City College were treated more favourably than their full-time counterparts.

She was a lecturer in English for Speakers of Other Languages at the college between 1989 and 2016, when she lost her job. She enrolled in a two-year early years teacher-training course at University College London and was hired by CCC again in September 2018 under a zero hours contract as an hourly paid lecturer in School of ESOL.

King claimed that she was only paid three hours for extra work done in the summer of 2021. She had agreed with her manager to create two new ESOL classes. In addition to developing the new courses and providing training sessions, King also performed other duties not included in her contract.

The college acknowledged that the tasks were above those of a lecturer who is paid by the hour, but argued that King’s interest in phonics and her prior study at UCL meant that she was doing the work on a voluntary basis.

King filed a claim with the employment tribunal for age discrimination and less favorable treatment of part-time employees, as well as a violation of her employment particulars.

The tribunal found that her complaint about being treated less favourably under the Part-Time Workers Regulations of 2002 was valid, since her comparator was paid for curriculum duties while she was not.

She will receive 30 532 francs in total, which includes over 23,000 francs in basic salary, 1,370 francs in sick pay, and more than 6,000 francs in contributions to the employer pension.

Judge stated “We do accept that expertise and skills and an interest in something does not make it voluntary.” The full-time comparison would still have been paid more for the hours worked (six per week non-teaching duties) than the claimant for performing similar duties. The less favorable treatment in terms of pay is due to the non-payment for these six hours each week.

CCC spokesperson: “This issue is currently being reviewed through the proper legal process.” “We have no more comments to make.”

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