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ASK THE UNION

NUT experts answer your questions on legal, professional, and health and safety matters.

Q: I qualified as a first aider in June 2009. I recently found out that the training requirements for first aiders changed on 1 October 2009. Does this mean I need to requalify?

A: You are correct that the requirements for first aid training changed as of
1 October 2009, but this does not mean you will need to take a further training course to requalify. You will only enter the new training regime when your current three-year First Aid at Work certificate expires.

Anyone who volunteers to become a first aider from now on has to undertake training approved by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in either:

• First Aid at Work (FAW), or
• Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW)

The HSE expects employers to undertake risk assessments to decide how many first aiders are required and to which of these levels they should be trained. The FAW course is more thorough in that it trains candidates to administer first aid in a wider variety of circumstances. For this reason, the NUT believes that it is more appropriate to the risks present in the school environment.

The other major change that came into force on 1 October is a new strong recommendation from the HSE that all first aiders should undertake annual refresher training.

Although any member of staff can volunteer to become a first aider, as a teacher there can be practical difficulties in terms of leaving a class to attend to an emergency situation. Your NUT school rep will be able to help if you need assistance in ensuring that arrangements are made by your headteacher for you to be released from your normal duties whenever required.

For further information, have a look at the NUT’s First Aid briefing, available from the health and safety section of the NUT website at www.teachers.org.uk/hands.

Q: I've worked full time in an independent school for the past five years, but have never been offered a pension scheme. I’m now 26 and would like to start paying into a pension but don’t know how to go about it. Can you offer any advice?

A: Unlike state schools, independent schools do not have to give access to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS). Some do, but others run their own occupational pension scheme, and some offer no scheme at all. If the school is accepted into the TPS then teachers are automatically enrolled into the scheme as per the normal arrangements. (Find out more at www.teacherspensions.co.uk.)

If a school doesn’t offer its own occupational pension scheme or a group personal pension scheme into which it pays at least 3 per cent of the employee’s salary, and it employs five or more people, then it must provide access to a stakeholder pension scheme. This allows contributions to be deducted through the payroll. If the employer is not giving access in this way it could be fined by the pensions regulator.

A stakeholder pension is a personal pension that has to meet certain rules on cost, portability and flexibility, so people can stop and start contributions without penalty. You could consider taking out a stakeholder pension yourself with an insurance company. Choosing a pension can be a complex area and we would recommend that people take independent financial advice.