Members of a teachers’ union NASUWT at Fulneck School, in Pudsey, Leeds, have declared an industrial dispute, claiming they have been told they won’t be paid for the second half of the final term, the BBC has reported.

The school announced in March that it is closing on 8 July due to a decline in enrolment and rising costs.

The NASUWT members said they have been told that after the May half term that the school could no longer afford to pay them, but they must continue working until the closure.

The school responded by saying staff would be paid up until 8 July. A spokesperson for the school’s trustees said it remained committed to a “regular and open” dialogue with staff.

A spokesperson for the NASUWT said: “As a result of the school’s decision not to pay them for the last half term, Fulneck teachers stand to lose 14% of their annual salary.

“Even if they are able to secure positions at other schools, they will go from July to the end of September with no pay – despite the fact they have earned that money.”

Matt Wrack, acting general secretary of the NASUWT, said union members at the school had “pulled out the stops to support their struggling pupils this term, and it has come – quite literally – at their own expense.

“After years of sacrifice for the good of the school, losing months of pay is a real kick in the teeth.”

Tim Toepritz, the union’s national executive member for Leeds, said the school’s teachers “have spent the last term supporting panicking pupils through exams and school transitions, all the while frantically searching for new roles themselves.

“On top of that, they now face unpaid bills over the summer.

“But Fulneck teachers are strong, and they won’t go down without a fight. The school needs to abide by its church’s mission statement and pay up.” [the school was founded by the Moravian church]