According to the position of the Wrocław Provincial Administrative Court in the judgment of 8 July 2021, IV SAB/Wr 1002/21, information about a teacher’s remuneration (including the incentive allowance) constitutes public information. Therefore, it is subject to disclosure as public property.
Incentive subsidy. Who decides whether to grant it?
An incentive allowance is a component of a teacher’s salary. It is awarded based on criteria adopted in the teachers’ pay regulations (article 30, paragraph 1, of the Teachers’ Charter).
According to the information contained in the Teacher Statute the teacher’s salary consists of:: :
- base salary;
- allowances: for years of service, motivational allowances, functional allowances, including those for exercising the role of class teacher, and for working conditions;
- remuneration for overtime and ad hoc replacement hours;
- bonuses and other benefits resulting from the employment relationship, excluding the benefits of the company’s social benefits fund, benefits referred to in art. 53a, and the increase referred to in art. Section 54 5.
As we read further in the Teachers’ Statute, “the value of the subsidies depends on the length of the employment relationship, the quality of the work performed and the performance of additional tasks or activities, the position or function performed and the difficult or onerous working conditions”.
To what extent does the teacher meet these criteria and deserve to receive a subsidy? evaluated by the director.
Court: School principal is required to provide information on the amount of incentive grants
In July 2021, the Wrocław Provincial Administrative Court confirmed that information about a teacher’s remuneration, including an incentive allowance, constitutes public information (judgment of 8 July 2021, IV SAB/Wr 1002/21).
The case concerned the failure of the school principal to respond to a request from the trade union, which asked about the remuneration (including incentive allowance) of teachers at a particular school. Information was requested on the remuneration practices of teaching staff, including the components of remuneration, together with a list of the amounts of incentive allowances, and whether this practice was applied uniformly to all teachers employed at the establishment managed by the authority.
The principal refused to provide the information, explaining that this would violate the teachers’ personal rights. Therefore, a complaint was filed with the court regarding the principal’s failure to act.
The court agreed with the union, arguing that the school principal is obligated to provide public information. On the other hand, information on teachers’ salaries concerns the management of public funds that constitute public property.
Reduction of the incentive subsidy. What can a teacher do?
On online forums, teachers often ask whether they can request a formal justification for the decision because the principal reduced their incentive allowance. What rights do they have in this regard?
The teacher has the right to explain the issue of reducing the amount of the allowance. It is worth asking the director for a substantive explanation of the reason for his decision and what exactly has deteriorated in our work.
Each teacher also has the right to individually submit a request for access to a list of the amounts of bonuses or subsidies of other teachers. The director is obliged to respond because it constitutes public information.
