Senior Associate, Anderson Lloyd Lawyers
PASL is NZPF’s legal advice and support scheme for principals. PASL was first established with an insurance company and later with law firm, Anderson Lloyd Lawyers, of Dunedin. In more recent years, as resources have allowed, NZPF has acquired 100 per cent of the shares in the limited liability company, which is governed by an independent Board. The scheme is funded by a separate subscription fee and is open to all members of NZPF. It provides subscribers one hundred minutes of free legal advice each year and up to $25,000 of legal representation. Fi McMillan is a senior associate with Anderson Lloyd Lawyers, and has been the main source of legal advice and support for principals for many years. She is well versed in the problems confronting principals, particularly in relation to employment issues. She also understands the vulnerability and complexities of principals being employed by their Board, whilst also being a member of the Board, and simultaneously being the Board’s designated employer of school staff. Over the years she has represented many principals who have come into conflict with their Boards and well understands the importance of principals maintaining strong and healthy relationships with their Board. Fi has presented at many NZPF conferences and Moots over the years and at many regional principals’ associations, to highlight the work of the PASL scheme and to provide principals with advice on how they can prevent small issues from escalating into bigger legal battles. In this brief article she focuses on problems that principals have encountered when taking sabbatical leave and offers some advice on how to minimize or prevent any negative outfall that might occur in the principal’s absence. Sabbatical Leave – How to Avoid Problems Sabbatical leave and other periods of study leave are an integral and valuable aspect of the professional development process for principals. They provide an opportunity to explore ideas, research and reflect on practice. Sabbaticals provide significant benefits to the principal, the school and its community. As a PASL lawyer, I am not privy to the vast majority of sabbaticals that go really well. I hear only about the few (but very upsetting) examples when things have gone badly wrong. One case, I recall, involved what a principal thought were ‘already resolved’ issues being reignited after their leave was approved. The principal had to cancel leave to respond to new allegations about performance issues, which they believed were
well behind them. Other cases include principals transferring their study leave to sick leave, because they had become anxious about unjustified allegations against them or were worn down by complaints. Some decided they could not leave the school and the staff after things became unsettled. In another case a principal’s request for study leave was refused in apparent retaliation for having challenged the Board’s decision on quite unrelated matters. There is always the risk that a Board will warm to an Acting Principal, in the absence of the principal, and that an ambitious Acting Principal may take advantage of that. In other cases, a Board may take advantage of the inexperience of an Acting Principal to push a particular agenda which the principal may
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not have supported. The principal, on returning to school, then finds they have to lead the school in a direction they might otherwise not have chosen. One of the worst cases involved multiple factors. An experienced and high performing principal, on an approved three term study leave, suddenly found herself under investigation for significant performance issues predating her leave by 6-12 months. She was called to a formal meeting with the Board and told the Board had lost trust in her as the school’s professional leader. Significant changes to the school’s strategic direction had been imposed in her absence, without appropriate community consultation and without the principal having an opportunity to comment or to provide relevant information. In this case, the allegations were successfully defended, but they should never have been raised in the first place. It was very stressful for the principal, who required extensive legal advice. It took much hard work for her to recover from the damage to her reputation and standing within the community. This column is not to discourage you from taking sabbatical leave. Rather, I am raising these issues with you so that you can minimise potential risk associated with taking study leave. Although sabbatical and study leave can be costly from a financial perspective and require commitment and focus, they are plainly well worth the effort. I suggest, however, that you take steps to minimise any potential risks during your absence. So, in addition to transferring the usual delegations of authority from the Board into the name of the Acting Principal and making the necessary administrative arrangements, it is important to discuss the precise nature of the role with the Board and with the prospective Acting Principal.
You need to consider what is going to be right for your school. You might think you do not need to state the obvious; that it is a temporary position designed to maintain and sustain the school’s strategic direction rather than an opportunity to restructure the senior team or to disestablish a special programme, implemented after extensive community consultation. Some principals have found that this discussion would have been well worth having, and it would have been helpful to keep a written record of agreed conditions. Sabbatical and study leave is meant to benefit you as principal, the school and community. That means your position needs to be there upon your return. PASL can help with any employment issues arising, but before undertaking your leave you may wish to discuss the practical side with your colleagues or seek assistance from the NZPF Helpline on operational matters. Please note that if your contract with PASL is in your name then it is your contract; if you change schools or go on long term leave the contract stays with you and you remain eligible for the legal benefits under the scheme. If your contract is in the name of your school then it covers whoever is in the role of the principal. If that is the case, then we suggest you enquire into a short-term personal cover while you are on leave, just to make sure you remain protected.
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