Support Staff in Schools' Collective Agreement

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Email: employment.relations@education.govt.nz

Part 2 Terms of Employment

Support Staff in Schools' Collective Agreement
Effective 20 June 2022 to 19 December 2024

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  • 2.1 Good employer/equal employment opportunities and pay and employment equity
    • 2.1.1 Attention is drawn to s 597 of the Education and Training Act 2020 which outlines the responsibilities of the employer with regard to the operation of a personnel policy that complies with the principles of being a good employer and the equal employment opportunity responsibilities of the employer.

      2.1.2 Pay and Employment Equity -The Ministry of Education and Union parties bound by this collective agreement agree that remuneration, job choice, and job opportunities in the state education sector should not be affected by gender.

  • 2.2 Appointments
    • 2.2.1 Where an employer intends to fill a position that is vacant in the school (other than with a fixed term employee) the employer shall wherever practicable, notify or advertise the vacancy in a manner sufficient to enable suitably qualified persons to apply for the position.

      2.2.2 Attention is drawn to s 603 of the Education and Training Act 2020 insofar as it provides that the person best suited to the position shall be appointed. In applying that provision the employer will have regard to the experience, qualifications and abilities relevant to the position and such other relevant matters as it determines.

      2.2.3 Every appointee to a vacancy shall be notified in writing of:

      1. the appointment; and
      2. the grade, step and pay rate/salary to be paid for the position; and 
      3. the hours and weeks to be worked; and
      4. whether the appointment is fixed term (see clause 2.3.3 below) or permanent.

      2.2.4 Permanent Positions
      All appointments shall be permanent unless identified as being for a fixed term.

  • 2.3 Categories of employment
    • 2.3.1 Full-time
      A full-time employee is an employee who is employed for 37.5 or 40 hours per week.

      2.3.2 Part-time
      A part-time employee is an employee who is regularly employed for less than the full-time hours as specified in clause 2.3.1.

      2.3.3 Fixed term appointment

      1. An employee and an employer may agree that the employment of the employee will end:
        1. at the close of a specified date or period; or
        2. on the occurrence of a specified event; or
        3. at the conclusion of a specified project.
      2. Before an employee and employer agree that the employment of the employee will end in a way specified in (a) above, the employer must:
        1. have genuine reasons based on reasonable grounds for specifying that the employment of the employee is to end in that way; and
        2. advise the employee of when or how his or her employment will end and the reasons for his or her employment ending in that way.
      3. The following reasons are not genuine reasons for the purposes of (b)(i) above:
        1. to exclude or limit the rights of the employee under the Employment Relations Act 2000;
        2. to establish the suitability of the employee for permanent employment.
  • 2.4 Hours of work and weeks per year
    • 2.4.1 All hours of required work shall be paid at the appropriate rate.

      2.4.2 The hours of work and the weeks of work per year of employees will be set by the employer in accordance with the requirements of the school and where applicable will include consideration of the following:

      1. Time spent on school business, trips, camps, meetings, preparation for classroom and individual learning support;
      2. Attendance at Individual Education Plan (IEP) meetings and regular consultation time with the teacher-in-charge of teacher aides for students with special needs.

      2.4.3 The hours of work of employees will not exceed 40 hours per week or 37.5 hours per week and will be worked between 8 am and 5 pm daily from Monday to Friday inclusive, unless otherwise agreed by the employer and employee.

      2.4.4 Except as provided under clause 2.4.5, where an employee is required to work additional hours to those set in accordance with clauses 2.4.2 and 2.4.3, the employee may be required temporarily to start and/or finish outside of those hours. These additional hours shall be paid at the ordinary rate of pay unless they are deemed to be overtime according to clause 2.7.

      2.4.5 For every day or part day when an employee is away from home overnight on a school camp or trip they shall be paid at ordinary time for hours required between 8 am and 6 pm and clause 2.7 shall not apply. Additional overnight provisions apply as per clause 5.5.

  • 2.5 Variation of hours per week and/or weeks per year
    • 2.5.1 Except as provided for in clause 2.6, each time the hours of work and the weeks worked per year for employees are fixed by the employer, they shall be fixed by written advice to the employee for a minimum of twelve months. The hours of work and / or the weeks to be worked may be varied during the twelve-month period:

      1. where the employer and employee agree;
      2. where the employer and employee do not agree, only after following the process in clauses 2.5.2 and 2.5.3 below. 

      2.5.1A Subject to clause 2.4.2 and notwithstanding clause 2.5.1(b) above, for employees who routinely undertake work set out in the Teacher Aide Work Matrix Table in clause 3A.3.3, whether designated as a Teacher Aide or not, from 17 October 2022 the employer’s ability to vary the employee’s hours of work and / or weeks worked per year will be restricted to a maximum variation of 20% of the hours and / or weeks the employee is currently employed to work in any 12 month period. For any variation in excess of 20%, the provisions of clause 10.2 will apply. The employer and employee may agree to vary the employee’s hours of work and / or weeks worked per year over and above the 20% maximum. Where this is by agreement, clause 10.2 will not apply. 

      2.5.2 Consultation

      Where the employer and employee do not agree to a variation to the hours of work and/or the weeks to be worked during the 12-month period, the employer will consult with the employee for a minimum of one month. The period of consultation between employee and employer will include discussions about the following:

      1. Reasons for the variation including any changes to the matters in 2.4.2(a) and (b)
      2. Whether the variation can be avoided or lessened
      3. In the case of reduction of hours, whether that reduction can be absorbed by attrition 
      4. In the case of increase in hours and/or weeks per year, whether that increase will create any difficulties for the employee
      5. Whether in a reduction of hours there are alternative hours of work available in the school, with terms and conditions no less favourable. This may involve retraining
      6. In the case of reduction in hours of work, consultation on any amendments to the job description which will take into account the reduction in hours applicable to the employee  

      Any discussions during the period may involve others in the employee’s team or a support person from outside the employee’s team; provided that:

      1. making arrangements for the support person to participate in discussions does not delay the start of the process unreasonably (e.g. by more than 72 hours), or the continuation of the process unreasonably (e.g. by more than 24 hours on any given occasion); and
      2. both parties should be informed of who will be attending or any changes to who will be attending at least 24 hours ahead of any discussion.

      Note: Support is available to both the employee and employer to provide advice and guidance if required. [NZEI Te Riu Roa and New Zealand School Trustees Assn] 

      2.5.3 If, following consultation detailed in 2.5.2 above, the employer decides to vary the employee’s hours of work and/or the weeks to be worked during the 12-month period, the employer shall give the employee not less than one month’s written notice of the variation, prior to it coming into effect. The consultation period and notice period are separate, consecutive periods and must not overlap.

      2.5.4 Except in exceptional circumstances (e.g., where an employee is absent on long term sick leave) this notice shall be given at such a time as to ensure it covers a period during which the employee is paid and at work.  Any part of the notice period that falls during a period the school is closed for instruction for a term break will not count towards the one month’s notice.

  • 2.6 Variation of hours or weeks of work for employees employed for a fixed term pursuant to clause 2.3.3(a)(ii)
    • 2.6.1 A fixed term employee employed under clause 2.3.3(a)(ii) whose position is funded by an external funding agency other than the Ministry of Education may have their hours or weeks of work varied at the completion of each three month period from the date of appointment where that funding is varied by the external agency. No hours shall be reduced under this provision before a reduction in funding by the external agency takes effect. Notice is provided to the employee of the variation as soon as this is known by the employer. The notice periods otherwise provided in this agreement shall not apply.

      2.6.2 Where the employer and the employee agree the hours of work and/or weeks to be worked may be varied during the three month period.

  • 2.7 Overtime
    • 2.7.1 All time required by the employer to be worked in excess of 40 working hours or 8 hours per day or outside of Monday to Friday inclusive shall be deemed to be overtime.  Computation shall be on a daily basis and payment for overtime shall be at time and a half or alternatively, by mutual agreement, time off in lieu may be taken.

  • 2.8 Rest and meal breaks
    • 2.8.1 Meal Breaks
      No employee shall be required to work more than five hours without an uninterrupted break for a meal, such breaks to be not less than 30 minutes and no more than one hour in duration except where otherwise agreed.

      2.8.2 Rest Breaks

      1. Employees shall be entitled to paid breaks in accordance with clauses 2.8.2(b) and 2.8.2(c) below.
      2. Employees working 5 hours or more per day may, on any such day, take either: 
        1. one 20 minute break in the morning; or 
        2. one 10 minute break in the morning and one 10 minute break in the afternoon.
      3. The timing of the break(s) shall be such that it takes into account:
        1. that the operational needs of the school are not compromised; and
        2. that the employee concerned is afforded a genuine break.
      4. Employees working 2 hours or more but less than 5 hours per day are entitled to either one break of 10 minutes in the morning or one break of 10 minutes in the afternoon. The timing of the break shall be such that it takes into account:
        1. that the operational needs of the school are not compromised; and
        2. that the employee concerned is afforded a genuine break.
      5. Coffee, tea, sugar and milk shall be provided at all meal intervals and rest periods.