All faculty must complete the official “Request for Leave or Reporting an Absence” form when they are absent for any reason. Teachers should also email their Principal to inform them directly of the absence.
ATTENDANCE OBLIGATIONS
All Teachers are expected to be in the school building from 7:45am to 4:00pm, Monday through Friday. This includes teachers who do not have a class during the first or last periods. Teachers are encouraged to eat lunch in the cafeteria with students but may return to their apartments for the lunch period if so desired. The completion of particular tasks and special events may mean that teachers must on occasion work outside of the normal hours – teachers will receive prior notice whenever possible when such circumstances arise. Special events are generally posted on the official school calendar at the start of the academic year. Faculty meetings will be held on Tuesday afternoons once per month and may run until approximately 4:30pm.
Staff supervising an extra-curricular activity should remain on campus until past the published finish time of the activity to ensure all students have left safely.
SICK AND PERSONAL LEAVE
It is expected that all employees are in attendance for full number of contractual days and any additional days as required by the job.
Teachers are entitled to take up to six leave days per year – this total includes both sick and personal leave. All teachers must submit the online leave form before taking any type of leave. Teachers should give as much notice as possible before taking leave. If a teacher is requesting leave less than 24 hours from the time of absence, he or she should call their respective principal in addition to completing the leave form.
If a teacher is sick for more than two consecutive days, ISNS may require a valid certificate of sickness from an approved medical practitioner. If such evidence is not provided, the absence from employment may be counted as unpaid leave. Additional leave beyond six days must receive special approval from the Head of School and will be without pay.
Teachers may leave campus for up to two hours without utilizing sick or personal leave if they do not need a substitute for the time away. This should not be a regular occurrence, but for the purpose of running special errands or taking care of business that must be done during working hours. The division principal should be informed whenever a teacher leaves campus so that the whereabouts of everyone is know and we have the assistance of all staff in the event of an emergency. During the school day, our focus is on learning and all efforts should be made to minimize the amount of time spent off campus.
Personal leave dates must be approved by the Head of School. Teachers should not use personal leave to extend holidays. Personal leave, if granted, must be taken at a time convenient for the school (not when there are field trips, examinations nor when a number of teachers are already absent). Personal leave is for circumstances whereby an employee needs time to attend to personal business matters, i.e. passport renewal, new passport pages, legal issues, or other matters deemed necessary by the Head of School.
A period of five working days for honeymoon leave may be granted to couples who are both employees of ISNS if their marriage takes place after their hiring date. This leave will not count towards their sick/personal leave.
As a professional group, teachers should be aware of the difficulties imposed upon their colleagues and the students for whom they are responsible as a result of their absence. Consequently, teachers should be absent from school or request leave in circumstances of an essential nature only.
MATERNITY AND PATERNITY LEAVE
Expecting mothers with a standard (Category A and B) or experienced (Category D) benefit package may be granted maternity leave with full salary and benefits (excluding special position stipends) for a period of at least 98 consecutive days (including weekends and holidays) starting upon the birth of their child or an earlier date agreed upon by both the mother and the school. The school will follow local labor law if there are any questions regarding maternity leave.
Expecting mothers with the enhanced benefits package (Category C) may be granted up to twelve full months for maternity leave upon the birth of their child. The maternity leave period may be started earlier during pregnancy if needed, but will not be extended beyond twelve months from a mutually agreed upon start date. During the maternity leave period, mothers will receive 55% of their base salary, up to a specified cap. If the school wishes to have a teacher return to work early from maternity leave and the teacher chooses to do so, the teacher may receive her full salary plus the maternity salary during the period of maternity leave for which she worked. The plan for such a situation needs to be approved by the Head of School and Director of Operations and Finance.
Fathers may be granted paternity leave of up to fifteen consecutive days, including weekends and holidays, upon the birth of their child. New fathers will be paid their regular salary during paternity leave.
Upon prior approval, maternity leave may be transferred to the father (and paternity leave to the mother), but it cannot be split between the father and mother.
PARENTAL CHILD CARE LEAVE (Chinese Nationals Only)
Parents of children aged three and below may take up to ten days of leave each calendar year in order to care for their children. The leave can be split into two segments if needed (each of the two segments may be of any length as long as they add up to ten days total). The leave for each segment is consecutive and will include weekends and holidays if it extends over them. Child Care Leave is in addition to maternity and paternity leave. If a parent has more than one child, they are only allowed ten days in total – they are not allowed ten days per child. Once the child (or youngest of all children) turns four years old, parents are no longer eligible for the leave.
BEREAVEMENT LEAVE
Should a member of the faculty suffer the loss of a family member, the employee may be granted leave with full pay and benefits in order to attend the funeral or to be with family. If the loss was that of an immediate family member, such as a child, parent, spouse or sibling, a period of five days will be granted. If the loss was that of an extended family member or close friend, a period of three days will be granted. The faculty member should consult the Head of School if special circumstances arise and addition leave is required.
HONEYMOON LEAVE
Any ISNS Faculty member who gets married during his/her contract period is eligible for a leave of up to five working days in order take a honeymoon. The dates of honeymoon leave must be pre-approved by the Head of School to ensure the leave does not greatly disrupt student learning. The Request for Leave Form should be completed at least two weeks prior to the start of the leave. Faculty members may not exchange their honeymoon leave for additional pay. Honeymoon leave may only be used in the academic year in which the wedding takes place. For summer weddings, the honeymoon leave may be used at an appropriate time during the following academic year.
SUBSTITUTION
ISNS does not employ full-time substitute teachers and therefore the covering of classes in the event of an absence is done by colleagues or a few on-call spouses of employees. Teacher should always ensure that their lesson plans are up-to-date and accessible in case of an unexpected absence. Substitute lesson plans and class instructions should be emailed to the respective Administrator and copied to the respective Head of Department or Grade Level Leader so they can be distributed to the substitute teacher. For absences that are known in advance, teachers are expected to arrange a coverage for any duties that will be missed.
Teachers are generally responsible for arranging their own substitute coverage. In the case of an unexpected absence where the teacher is incapacitated or out of contact, the Principals, Grade Level Leads and Heads of Departments will assist in organizing coverage for lessons. As much as possible, substitute teachers who are qualified and capable of teaching the given grade level and subject should be utilized. Teachers should always try to minimize their absences in order to provide consistent support for students.
ISNS FACULTY 