A school principal has won his case against his board of management for payment of €1,769 for supervision duty.

It is expected that new circulars regarding principal teachers supervising or carrying out "yard duty" will be drawn up by the Department of Education following the ruling by the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

Micheal O Deasmhúnaigh took his complaint after the board of Scoil Ghleanna in New Inn, Glanmire, Co Cork, instructed that he should be put down for zero hours of supervision for the school year 2011-2012. Some teachers had complained that he had claimed payment but declined to put himself on the roster.

However, Mr O Deashmhúnaigh insisted he was responsible for organising it and that he always supervised and, as school principal, it was part of his duty of care.

The tribunal was advised that, if the school does not claim the maximum supervision hours allocated, a grant is paid to the board of management in respect of the deficit. When the 2011-2012 grant was issued, the school included the 37 hours not claimed in respect of the principal and that money was in the board of management’s bank account.

The tribunal said it examined the relevant department circulars and was satisfied that Mr O Deasmhúnaigh did undertake supervision duties, but not on a rostered basis.

Consultation

It was clear that the drawing up of the supervision roster was to be done in consultation with the Board of Management, it pointed out. “Thus, the board of management must at all times have been aware that the appellant was not putting his name on the roster and accepted this every year up to and including 2010 -2011.”

Having had regard to the circulars, the tribunal observed that it was not manifestly clear from the Department circulars that the principal must be rostered for supervision. It ruled that the failure to make the payment to him constituted an unlawful deduction from his wages and set aside the decision of the Rights Commissioner.