Will the deputy director performing the duties of a director studying in a management course receive additional payment?

Question

I am the deputy for spiritual and educational work at the school. Since the school principal had gone for a month of professional development, I was assigned the task by the MMTB order and was set to pay 50% of my salary.

However, during the audit, the money paid to me was recovered in excess. In this case, should I be paid for working instead of a director?

Response

In the above situation, the school principal may have been involved not in professional development, but in a one-month training course for management training.

Because, by Resolution No. 531 of the Cabinet of Ministers dated August 27, 2024, management training courses were integrated with advanced training courses, and management training courses were introduced as advanced training courses for school principals.

Regarding the main question, according to Article 116 of the Labor Code, assigning the duties of a temporarily absent employee to his permanent deputy without release from his main job is formalized by an order of the employer and does not require additional consent from the employee assigned to perform temporary duties and is not subject to additional payment, if this deputy has an obligation to perform the duties of the temporarily absent employee in accordance with labor legislation, the employment contract, or the job description.

Now, in this situation, we need to find out whether the duties of the Deputy Director for Spiritual and Educational Work, who concurrently performs the duties of the director, include the obligation to perform his duties in the absence of the director.

As is known, Appendix No. 43 to Order No. 334 of the Minister of Preschool and School Education dated October 16, 2024, approved the job description of employees of a general secondary school (boarding school).

According to it, it is envisaged that during the period of school director's leave, sick leave, and advanced training, his official duties can be assigned to the deputy director for spiritual and educational work.

That is, if the school principal is on vacation, sick leave, or advanced training, and his duties are performed by the deputy director for spiritual and educational work, he will not be paid additional wages.

Article 116 of the Labor Code also provides for a "temporary" period. That is, temporary means a certain short time. For example, the period of illness, a business trip, or a period of advanced training can be called a temporary period.

According to Article 259 of the Labor Code, no additional payment is made when the duties of a temporarily absent employee are assigned to his permanent deputy without release from his main job.

Also, due to the introduction of management training courses as a professional development course for school principals, the deputy director performing his duties is not paid additional remuneration even during the period of the director's training in the management course.