Introduction
Teachers have benefits which he will use for pre and post retirement protection. The most commonly used by most teachers is Teachers’ Pension Scheme which is abbreviated as (NUT). The teachers’ pension scheme covers all types of members who are in the teaching profession and members benefit when they have reached the age of 65. When a teacher retires he will start withdrawing his pension from the scheme so long he had contributed. However, when he retires pre-maturely or at the age of 55 the cost of pre maturely retirement is paid to the pension scheme by the employer. The pension scheme which is enjoyed by teachers in U.K. is said to be the best in the world for teachers.
The package recognizes two types of retirement ages, the age of 65 which is normal retirement age and 55 which is an early retirement age especially on the issues of illness. This pension is normally payable to the surviving dependants that is, those of opposed sex if the pensioner is dead. It has a guarantee to pay for a dead pensioner amount equivalent to three times the annual salary. This scheme is important to all the teachers and teachers should be read to join this scheme because they are important. This pension scheme helps many teachers because it has a lump sum plus ill health retirement benefit. If one retires on the ground of health then he is entitles to receive his package. It helps teachers to remain healthy and continue producing for the sake of the country.
Social insurance
Every government in the world strives to provide the best quality of health and social services to the citizens so that they can be more productive, hence improve their living conditions and the economy of their country. Each country must create, conserve and build up the intellectual, moral and physical vigour of its active generations and then prepare way for its future. Social services are a major component which must be included in the budget and should be allocated more funds as they are part and parcel of every citizen. Britain has put much effort and resources to ensure that there is proper management of its social services and has introduced quality standards that ensure there is improvement in service delivery with hope that everyone will be happy of these new changes (Brown, I978).
Social services can be defined as the provisions made by the governmental or voluntary efforts to meet income maintenance, medical care, housing and recreational needs. Provision and maintenance of social services is the major responsibility of the government and the citizens in turn have to make proper use of these services. These provisions must be of high quality because they will have an effect to every citizen in the country. Social services are an important feature of the British social life, as there is a commitment by the government and other stakeholders to manage them well so that the country can have a healthy, active and productive population. In 1935, the British government increased the social service expenditure to two million pounds; this was 53% of the total expenditure granted by the parliament. The expenditure was increased because of the prevailing conditions at that time. The failure to provide satisfactory premises with the necessary range of other professional skills and administrative services also held back the development of health care (Willcocks, 1967).
Health care has long been considered an essential element of good medical care. More than fifty years ago the Dawson Report (Ministry of Health) advocated setting up a national network of health facilities in the country Most importantly in 1946, the National Health Service Act made it a clear responsibility of local authorities to provide, equip and maintain buildings for general services, medical, dental and pharmaceutical. The government has spent a lot of money in improving and maintaining the social service sector in the country in order to cope with the changes and demand for them by the citizens. Some of the Social services provided by the government of Britain include;
- Unemployment insurance
- Compulsory state insurance
- Compulsory health insurance
- Provision for pensions
- Workman’s compensation
- Benefit scheme for employers
In Britain, the health service was provided by the government, the medical practitioners and the private bodies. The national health policy was started in 1912 and covered about half of the British population by 1914. Different authorities administered maternity and child welfare as they were thought to be more important than others. However there was no good coordination in these schemes before the Beviridge plan. The plan assumed the comprehensive health service for every citizen irrespective of the ability to pay. The medical treatment was not to depend on a person’s ability to pay but should be paid by the community. With this plan, it set a pace for more radical changes in the health sector, with the government implementing some of the recommendations put forward by Sir Beviridge.
The British government is aware of the changing approaches to management in health and social services. Interventions are being made by the government to improve quality of service and the citizens are happy of the new changes. There have been drastic changes and improvements in the health sector in training and re-training of personnel in health sector on the new ways of delivering quality services to the people. There has been a change from provision of social to a few selected groups of people to catering all the citizens of the country, this policy is people centered whereby the citizens are involved in approving whether the quality standards are of high standards and whether they are satisfied with them (Williams and Anderson,1979).
Perhaps the most obvious way to demonstrate the social significance of health is to document the ever increasing acceptance by the society of responsibility for healthcare. This pattern of the development of health care services demonstrates clearly the awareness of the government of the social consequences of ill health. There has been some social change and the development of collective responsibility for the provision of health care. The health sector has a monitoring unit which keeps check on the necessary areas in order to make sure that the quality standards are maintained. With the increasing number of population since World War II, the social services being provided by the government have strained and the government had to change some of its policies so that they can cover the growing population.
The government has gone a step ahead to create awareness on health issues to the public, who have taken it positively, and this has been done through public lectures, teachings through the radio, television, Newspapers and journals. The health services nowadays are of high standards and quality as people will only go to health care services in facilities where the service is of high quality in terms of treatment and professionalism. The medical facilities have been improved and continue being improved. At the same time, new facilities are being constructed and equipped with modern facilities, enough medicine and staff to cater for the increasing needs of the clients. These facilities are spread countrywide so that all citizens can be able to access health services. The provision of health services and other health services is a right to every citizen and the government and the ministry of health has the sole responsibility of work hard to satisfy the needs of its citizens without any fail, favour and blame. The government has taken a step ahead of identifying areas that need special attention in health matters and taken the necessary steps.
The medical / health fraternity has a board known as the British Medical Association which keeps check on all health related matters in the country. It ensures that all the medical personnel are qualified to work and whether they follow all codes of ethics while at work (British Medical Association, 1976). This is very important because previously there have been serious cases where unqualified people who pretend to have qualified as medical practitioners have resulted in administering wrong treatment to patients resulting in death. This body cracks on these quacks countrywide to get rid of them so that the health sector can remain a respectable and more professional in handling its affairs.
The management teams in the health institutions have the responsibility to make sure that their staffs offer services of high quality to their clients and they must be in a position to brief the health ministry if they are requested to do so. The management has also been trained on managerial and administrative skills, public relations and financial management o that they can be in a position to run their institutions without any difficult. The government and the Ministry of Health and other major stakeholders in the health and social service sector are working together to ensure that the managers in the health sector are getting enough training, whether inside or outside the country so that they can be in a position to become efficient, disciplined and effective managers at their work place.At the same time, these mangers are urged to identify areas of training which needs to be considered in future. This effective training and implementation of what has been trained has resulted to positive and quality service delivery to the public. The public outcry for better and quality service delivery has been minimized though there are few loopholes which have to be filled before the full attainment of the objectives of the health sector. The high performers whose work has generally improved and appreciated by the public are handsomely rewarded by the government for their good job; the same applies to the rest of the staff. It has also come to be increasingly recognized that mangers need to cooperate with others in carrying out these managerial functions. The opportunities created by working this way will be beneficial as it could be easier consult each other when issues arise at managerial level.
The personnel are being paid well by the government and the private sector. This motivates them to work harder and at the same time offer quality services to the clients. A clear turning point in the modernization in the general practice of health care services came with the British Medical Association General Practitioners Charter in 1965, whose proposals became the basis for successful negotiations with the government on pay conditions of work. Besides introducing increased basic levels of remuneration, the charter also became the basis for improvements in practice organization up to now (British Medical Association, 1977). There has been until recent years, a lack of suitable medical education for health care at undergraduate and post graduate levels. The Royal College of General Practitioners was established in 1952 and has done much to enhance professional development and education for general practitioners. There have also been developments in the training of other professionals for work in primary health care, although progress has not been rapid. This has led to high professionalism in the health sector and has necessitated competition among the practitioners who are competing in offering the best services ever to their clients. A survey was carried in 1981 to find out from the general public whether they approve and appreciate the health care provided to them. It was found out that 72% appreciated and liked the efforts being made by the government in service provision and management of these health institutions. The other remaining 28% were hesitant to give answers but most of them said the services had not improved and if it had improved, it was meant to benefit the rich only.
There has been an influx of medical personnel from outside the country who come to seek jobs in the country because of better remuneration packages and better working conditions in the country than where they come from. This has necessitated the government to act tough on those who come to the country to work in case they make life threatening mistakes when handling the patients. There have been cases where those seeking jobs the country may have committed mistakes in their country, and so they have to prove that they are genuine professionals who are committed to offer better and quality services to the people. Also the number of patients being brought into the country for further medical care is rising steadily. This is because of the high quality standards of medical care, good quality service, modern medical facilities and highly qualified medical personnel. This has led to competition as there are an ever increasing number of competitors in the health sector offering the same service. What people are interested in is quality service and if that service satisfies them. Some health facilities have had many clients because of their good service while some have been deserted because of bad services.
In order to keep maintaining these high quality standards in service delivery, more resources will have to be set aside for training the staff and offer them other incentives so that they will continue working with motivation and this will discourage them indulging themselves in unprofessional practices that may threaten their profession and the life of their clients. With these drastic changes in the health sector, there have been great improvements and the user is happy about the quality of service being offered to him / her. The high standards of professionalism have been maintained hence offering good healthcare services to the citizens. Some of those medical personnel who have been practicing illegal have been deregistered, fined and charged in court for the offence of offering substandard health care services to the people.
The health sector has also a tribunal where those of its members who have been accused of wrongdoing, can face this tribunal and defend themselves. It has the powers to punish, reprimand, suspend, fine and expel members from the medical fraternity. This body has it committee members drawn from all sectors of health in order to make a balance when handling cases of its members. There are a set of code of ethics which the medical personnel are supposed to use and follow while they are on duty. They act as guidelines to all of them and if one breaks one of the, he /she is aware of the consequences that will follow. These of ethics are reviewed with time if there is need to change and are amended with the full agreement of the members.
Medical insurance
Teachers should also cover and also benefit from medical insurance offered by their government. Medical insurance is a legally required benefit which employers are supposed to offer their employees. The resources and bargaining power play a major role in determining the quality of healthcare insurance that a teacher will be offered. Most employers complain about the cost of insurance although some of them have found ways of cutting insurance costs.
Pension and health benefit programs
Pension and health benefit programs are two traditional benefits for the teachers, provided by the government and companies. Hudson brings out the importance of pension plans and presents that strict control over the designs of pension schemes should be reduced such that government and firms might provide lucrative pension plans for the teachers. A proper balance is restored between their cost and their importance to the human resource management segment of an education system (Hudson, 2008).
Teachers are giving more importance on the educational assistance, home insurance, automobile insurance and other banking services. They also require some flexible benefit plans. The government and private school administrators are concern about the real cost and effectiveness of these benefits for the teachers. By the flexibility plans of benefits for the teachers, they can purchase benefits in exchange with money. The benefits of the education system should be credited to all teachers involved. This helps to increase the efficiency, productivity of the teachers. It also helps to improve the quality of output and reduce the cost. This will encourage teachers to work as a team. If a team or group is getting incentives from the school or government, it will be called as gain sharing. This helps to have a sustainable and continuous development of education. If the school is able to reach the target, then the monetary gains will be shared amongst the teachers of the team. This entire program is self-financed by the school. After the 21st century, the schools management took the responsibility to provide these benefits to the teachers. Developing trust is a difficult task for the teacher employers. This trusting relationship improves the efficiency and productivity of teachers. Introducing these benefits for the teachers, the employers create a suitable working environment for the teachers. As a result, it becomes a two-way advantage from the sides of teachers and the education system. Education administrations conduct several effective training and retraining processes for the teachers to increase their efficiency level, which is helpful for schools. Education administrations are responsible for implementing and maintaining the ethics of education. This increases the ethical standard of the schools and its teachers. Benefits for the teachers can be exercised as monetary compensation to teachers (Borgardus, 2004). Teachers may have different reasons for monetary requirement. Some teachers want to keep their children in baby-care education system or some teachers want monetary support for children’s higher studies. Therefore, the requirement purpose may be different but the requirement is equal for each teachers.
Deterioration of Teacher Benefit Plans
Healthy insurance companies are in a process of terminating some services because of financial difficulties being experienced in the world today. According to Munnell et al, there are four reasons behind this action of large healthy companies – to reduce workers total compensation in the face of intense global competition, to cut back on pensions in the face of growing health benefits to maintain existing compensation levels, due to the market risk, longevity risk and regulatory risks involved in benefit pensions and finally due to the due to the enormous grown in CEP compensation (Munnell et al, 2006).
Paula Bailey suggests that it would be better for both employers and employees to accept reduction of benefits rather than reducing pay as a surviving measure. When an employee’s pay is reduced, Bailey says that some of the benefits linked to pay will be affected such as pension benefits. In case of defined benefit schemes, there would be reduced pension benefits for the employee and for defined contribution schemes a cut in pay may lead to a corresponding cut in the contributions. When the benefits are non-contractual, Bailey says that they can be withdrawn or reduced without the permission of the employee. And these may include free meals, refreshments, prohibiting first-class travel, imposing limits on expense claims, or reducing non-guaranteed overtime. When the benefits are promised to the employees by contract, then, employers can make some changes in the benefits without violating the contract. It would not be advisable for an employer to reduce or withdraw payment when the terms are in the form of a contract. In such cases, the employee’s consent is very important to implement any change in benefits. But if the employees resist the move, then, employers do have the power to impose the changes but they must ensure they have sufficient reasons to impose the changes, have evaluated things from the employee perspective and tried to arrive at a consensus. It is important that the changes have a business rationale to them (Armstrong, 2006).
Teachers Health and Security
Health and security of teachers and the human resource management cycle plays a vital role to observe a sustainable development in the education system (Bratton and Gold, 2001). If an education system can provide health and other security to the teachers, they will provide a sustainable development through remarkable improvement in work efficiency. There is a chain system between the health security from the education system, improvement in health condition of teachers, increase in work efficiency and increase in productivity and sustainable development of the education system. The World Health Organization (WHO) took the initiative to make people aware about their health and medical security. It was necessary to change the traditional system of providing health and other security for the teachers. Insurance companies also take part in teacher compensation management. This helps to minimize the staffing reduction (Mathis and Jackson, 2008).
The Education administrators should incorporate these schemes in health security plans for the teachers. This will reduce the risk and uncertainty of teachers’ health condition. Better health condition provides better and efficient future generation. Therefore, it is very important to get sustainable development in education system and also the future generation. The effect of teachers’ health security is a long-run process for the education system. Healthy working environment benefits the education system and its teachers. This helps to maintain the link between the education system and teachers to get sustainable development
Bargaining Strategy on Salary Increase
Collective bargaining refers to the negotiations between labour union representatives and employers/management to determine terms and conditions of service. Labour-management negotiations may be carried out by the employer or by professional negotiators appointed by the employer. Examples of professional negotiators include peace negotiators, hostage negotiators, diplomats, and union negotiators. The commonly negotiated issues between labour unions and management are employment terms such as salaries, terminations, promotions, transfers, and working hours, day-offs, health insurance, and annual leaves granted to workers (Storey, 2007).
Collective bargaining helps employees and employers to mutually agree on conditions of employment. In relation to salary, the negotiations aim to establish a mutually agreeable rate of payment to the workers. In most cases, workers unions want to secure contracts for their members thereby forcing them to enter salary negotiations with employers. It is therefore imperative upon the employer to put in place strategies that will result into such an agreement between the company and the labour unions. This paper explores the available collective bargaining strategies, tricks, and models that can be used by an employer to handle a salary increase demand by labour unions (Wolper, 2004).
Conclusion
The Teacher supporting plan managers are also known as the teacher welfare managers as well as the work–life managers. They are accountable for a wide range of curriculum to improve teacher security and the wellness and recovery of work-life balance. Teachers certainly play a fundamental role in any given society. This is because any human society is naturally expected to grow and develop. While growth takes many dimensions, intellectual and moral growth is part of that fundamental process of maturing. This however would not be possible without the integration of teachers in the process. As such, it is not possible to get a single professional who did not go through the hands of a teacher. It is true that the managers always do not have the full perception on their teachers’ routine. A 360-degree response can assist the managers to keep away from any bias, and in getting a diverse standpoint on their teachers’ presentation and a better identification of the areas that need progress. Teachers frequently discount pessimistic responses in the form of “just your opinion.” Authenticating criticism by gathering them from manifold, convincing resources can construct it in a more objective shape and increase its force. These propositions may be counted as the ideals for a proper orientation of a managerial task in the sector of human resource management (Bailey, Jane & Agnes, 1978).
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