A dad has faced backlash after calling for teachers to be fined for going on strike, after he was fined for taking his son on an out-of-term holiday.
Steven Doherty was upset that 13-year-old Alfie Doherty couldn't attend his school on Wednesday because teachers were on strike.
The 44-year-old says he is upset that he received a £240 fine for taking Alfie on an illicit holiday, but teachers can stage industrial action to fight for their pay and working conditions following a decade of sharply falling wages.
He's since attracted the fury of fellow parents by writing a sarcastic email to the school saying he is disappointed that staff went on strike and the school was closed for the day.
People said that the email was offensive to striking teachers, who have received below inflation pay rises for years, falling by 11% on average between 2010 and 2022, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
His email, sent on Wednesday evening, ends by announcing a £120 fine per teacher that should have taught Alfie that day - even adding his payment details and a deadline of February 14.
The dad-of-five said the teachers are 'hypocritical' for exercising their right to strike but not allowing him to take Alfie out of school for a term-time holiday.
Steven claims that he booked a holiday for the Easter break before Alfie had been placed in a high school and he didn't realise schools in the area had different term times.
The mechanic's post has been shared more than 800 times.
Teachers walked out last week and demanded that schools receive extra money to ensure important pay rises don't come from the existing education budget.
Many people rejected the comparison of an out-of-term holiday with the legal right to strike following 13 years of Tory real-term education cuts.
One wrote: "Bit silly really, considering teachers pave the way for your child to succeed in life.
"They are fighting for a better education system, yes pay too, but I, for one second, wish you could see how much work teachers do. Grow up."
Another added: "Industrial action is an authorised absence."
Steven says the school hasn't yet responded to the fines he's 'issued' but told him to remove the post from Facebook for GDPR reasons.
He called the strikes 'double standards' because teachers were not in school, and that he'd been fined over a "genuine mistake" on holiday.
He added: "The school wanted to see it as black and white when they fined me so I thought I'd give it back to them the same way. I hope they'll have a bit of a laugh with me but I don't know.
"I thought I'd give them a bit of karma and send this email. It entertained me last night. I was laughing as I wrote it.
"Obviously I don't expect them to pay me any money in the near future but it might make them think I've got a point and realise they could have been more amicable and had more sympathy with me.
"Teachers are jumping on it and giving me abuse, thinking I'm falling out with them. I've not got an issue with why teachers are striking but it's about double standards."
The school was contacted for comment.
