TSC LEAVES FOR TSC-EMPLOYED TEACHERS; COMMON TYPES OF TSC LEAVES; MATERNITY, PATERNITY, SICK, ANNUAL, STUDY, SPECIAL

TSC LEAVES FOR TSC-EMPLOYED TEACHERS; COMMON TYPES OF TSC LEAVES; MATERNITY, PATERNITY, SICK, ANNUAL, STUDY, SPECIAL

A DETAILED GUIDE TO TSC LEAVES: TYPE OF TSC LEAVE, DURATION, WHEN AND HOW TO APPLY

The Teachers Service Commission TSC enables teachers to apply for particular leaves while in service. These include sick leave, maternity leave, annual leave, study leave, special leave, compassionate leave among others.

In this article, we shall give elaborate details on every type of TSC leave and provide a procedure on how to go about it with ease.

1. Maternity leave

Legibility: This is usually given to TSC employed female teachers who are expectant.

Application: in case you need maternity leave, you have to apply by sending a formal request to the TSC sub-County director of education through your immediate supervisor, the school head. The application procedure is quite easy since you just need to fill the Maternity Leave Application Form available online.

Requirements: Maternity leave’s application form, a formal letter from a recognized medical practitioner indicating the EDD, Expected Date of Delivery.

Duration: The female teacher is allowed to proceed to maternity leave for three consecutive months. This translates to 90 calendar days.

Conditions: a female teacher proceeding to maternity leave is entitled to a full salary for those 90 working days.

Can a TSC teacher proceed on maternity leave without approval?

No. disciplinary action shall be taken against any female teacher who knowingly or unknowingly proceeds on maternity leave without written formal approval from the Commission.

2. Paternity Leave

Legibility: this leave is offered to a TSC employed male teacher whose wife has given birth.

Application: The teacher is expected to fill a Paternity Leave Application Form available online

Requirements:

Duration: the Commission grants a male teacher proceeding on paternity leave 10 working days within the duration of the wife’s maternity leave. It is only granted once a year.

Conditions: the teacher shall proceed on paternity leave with full payment within the duration of the wife’s maternity leave.

Can a TSC teacher proceed on paternity leave without approval?

No. The Commission can take disciplinary action against any male teacher who proceeds on paternity leave without formal approval from the Commission.

 

3. Study leave

Legibility: This is given to teachers who would like to further their studies but still retain their jobs at the Commission.

Application: a teacher wishing to apply for study leave must complete a study leave application form as set out in Form S under schedule XXXI.

Conditions: the Commission can only grant leave to a teacher, who has worked with the Commission for at least five years from the first date of appointment, seeks to undertake a postgraduate diploma or postgraduate degree, and has demonstrated a good performance record.

A teacher appointed or deployed by the Commission to an administrative position who takes study leave for a period exceeding six months shall relinquish the position.

One of the major bottlenecks in applying for study leave with or without pay is the assessment of staffing levels within the institution at which the teacher applying for leave is stationed.

 

Proceeding on Study leave without approval

A teacher who proceeds on study leave without formal approval from the Commission shall face disciplinary action.

The same case applies to a head of an institution that fails to grant a teacher permission to proceed on study leave after the Commission grants it.

Study leave without pay

The Commission may grant study leave without pay to a teacher who applies to study in an area outside the schools’ curricular or an area that is not covered by the study leave policy.

A teacher who wishes to take study leave before completing three years upon resumption of duty from study leave irrespective of whether the study leave was with or without pay.

4. Sick leave

Eligibility: This is granted to ill teachers who are unable to attend to their duties as expected by the Commission.

Duration: 14 days from the date of receiving information about the teacher’s sickness.

Application: This is done by completing a sick leave form available online and forwarding it to the sub-county director of education through the head of the institution. A registered medical practitioner may recommend on account of the illness that a teacher be admitted to a hospital for treatment, be granted off duty to recover or stay at home and receive medical treatment.

Conditions: the form must be forwarded to the commission not later than 48 hours where a teacher attended hospital as an outpatient and not later than 7 days where a teacher got admitted to the hospital as an inpatient.

Sick leave entitlement

The Commission may grant a teacher sick leave in any period of 12 months continuously as follows: a maximum of three months with full pay, half pay for a further three months where the sickness extends for over the first three months and no pay where the sickness extends beyond six months until the teachers resumes duties.

Sick leave for teachers employed on contractual terms (internship)

The Commission shall grant sick leave for a teacher serving on contractual terms for a period not exceeding one year as follows: a maximum of one month with full pay, half pay for a further one month where the illness extends beyond one month and no pay where the sickness extends beyond two months until the teacher resumes duty.

In case the illness extends for over one year, the Commission shall seek the intervention of the Director of Medical Services to convene a medical board meeting to determine whether such a teacher is fit to continue executing duties.

Sick leave outside the Country

In case a teacher is referred by a recognized medical practitioner to seek further medical care outside Kenya, the teacher shall be entitled to sick leave with pay according to the set regulations.

Where a teacher seeks medical attention outside Kenya without a recommendation from a registered medical practitioner, the Commission may approve sick leave without pay upon verification of a medical report from the health institution attended by the affected teacher.

Resuming duty after being on six leave for a long period

Where a teacher has been on sick leave continuously for more than six months in 12 months, the teacher should report to the County director of education in person for posting and shall produce a certificate of medical fitness from a registered medical practitioner.

NOTE:

If a registered medical practitioner recommends leave of fewer than six months for a teacher or head, the teacher or head shall apply for sick leave, and leave may be granted by the TSC County director of education.

The Commission shall consider the recommendation for sick leave from a registered medical practitioner where: the leave is authorized does not exceed two weeks or a further medical report submitted to the Commission to the effect that the teacher requires to be absent from duty for a period exceeding two weeks.

A teacher who donates an organ to a patient shall apply for sick leave as per the registered medical practitioner’s recommendation.

A teacher who submits false medical evidence to the Commission shall be subject to disciplinary action.

 

5. Annual Leave

Legibility: Any TSC teacher is entitled to a maximum of 30 days leave with full pay in respect of each calendar year worked irrespective of the terms and conditions of service. This, therefore, means that teachers working on contractual terms are entitled to this leave.

Conditions: it shall only be taken during school holidays and it cannot be accumulated to be carried over from one year to the other.

Duration: A TSC teacher is entitled to a maximum of 30 days leave with full pay.

Application: a teacher can apply for TSC annual leave during school holidays by completing the TSC annual leave application form available online. Once the teacher fills the form, it should be forwarded to the head of the institution for recommendation before being sent to the sub-county director of education for approval. A copy of the form is dispatched to the TSC Headquarters and another to the County director of education for filing.

6. Compassionate leave

Legibility: A teacher can be granted compassionate leave where in the opinion of the sub-county director or head of institution s/he deserves it.

Application is made in writing by the teacher in question then forwarded to the head of the institution for approval.

An application for compassionate leave can also be made in writing by the head of the institution who would like to seek leave and forwarded to the sub-county director of education for approval.

7. Special leave

The Commission may grant special leave with full pay to a teacher who has been selected and appointed to attend a meeting, conference, workshop, study tour or seminar for a period exceeding three months, wherein the opinion of the Commission, the participation of the teacher is of national or public interest and relevant to education and the teaching service.

Special leave for sportspersons

The Commission may grant Special Leave with full pay to a teacher who is selected to represent Kenya in national, regional or international events for the necessary period of training and subsequent participation in the sport.

An application for Special Leave for Sports Persons shall be made to the Commission in writing and shall be accompanied by the relevant documentation.