Labour risks union revolt over private school tax raid job losses

Meanwhile Emma Thompson, partner and head of employment at law firm Thackray Williams, said job losses at private schools were “inevitable”. 

Ms Thompson, who advises a number of independent schools, said her clients were already looking at redundancy plans as schools deal with falling pupil numbers. 

She said: “We haven’t had the VAT pass but I’ve got schools who are already restructuring because pupil numbers are already dropping, we’ve already seen a school close, parents are voting with their feet and everybody is anticipating a Labour government. 

“The numbers have already dropped, they dropped last year, they dropped again this year so schools are having to take action regardless of where the policy is at the moment because they are already feeling that financial pinch. 

“They are looking to do other things before affecting teachers’ salaries. Class sizes are getting bigger, there is definitely less investment in extra-curricular activities, I know there are less scholarships, heads are standing up saying ‘our scholarships used to be 30pc or 40pc, we are dropping them right down to 10pc or 20pc’. They are looking to do everything else they can to mitigate what is happening to teaching staff but [job losses] are the inevitable.”

The lawyer said schools would not find it “simple” to make staff redundant as unions will “come out fighting”. 

“Legally it’s just not that simple and they [private schools] don’t tend to go through the process very often so they are pretty green when it comes to changing terms and conditions of employment and redundancy.” 

Schools cannot change teachers’ pay and benefits without consulting with them and their union first in an attempt to reach an agreement.

They can also not force teachers to accept new terms and know any redundancies come with the risk unions will file unfair dismissal claims which could prove costly.