How allowances are calculated#

Salary and management allowance entitlements are calculated using the formula prescribed in the Education (School Staffing) Order. They are based on rates in the teacher collective agreements.

Tracking usage#

Schools are responsible for tracking their use of salary units and management allowances against entitlement. 

You can see your usage in your fortnightly Staffing Usage and Expenditure (SUE) report. This shows the units and allowances that you have allocated to teachers. 

You can check you are within entitlement by comparing it to your staffing entitlement in Pourato.

Quarterly monitoring#

Monitoring will be completed on a quarterly basis. Your average payroll usage will be compared to your average entitlement for the quarter to determine if you are over allocating. 

Schools that are overusing by 1 or more units will be sent a letter that shows usage against entitlement by pay period. Schools can ask to have their reported overuse reviewed.

In 2026 we are monitoring only. We won’t recover overuse until 2027. 

This phased approach will provide you with a full year to track your usage and make adjustments to stay within your entitlement before recovery begins in 2027.

Salary units that are allocated to specific attached positions are not included in the monitoring process. These units are not included in schools’ entitlement units but are allocated separately to teachers in that position.

Timeframe #

The timeframe for monitoring this year is set out below.

Quarter 1 (PP23–PP01)

Monitoring period: 21 January 2026 to 14 April 2026

Reports sent to schools overusing by: 30 April 2026

Request review by: 14 May 2026

Quarter 2 (PP02 – PP08)

Monitoring period: 15 April 2026 to 21 July 2026

Reports sent to schools overusing by: 5 August 2026

Request review by: 19 August 2026

Quarter 3 (PP09 – PP15)

Monitoring period: 22 July 2026 to 27 October 2026

Reports sent to schools overusing by: 10 November 2026

Request review by: 23 November 2026

Quarter 4 (PP16 – PP22)

Monitoring period: 28 October 2026 to 2 February 2027

Reports sent to schools overusing by: 19 February 2027

Request review by: 5 March 2027

Recruitment, retention and responsibility (3R) payments#

If you have fully allocated your salary units and management allowances, you can use recruitment, retention and responsibility (3R) payments.

These recognise an extra responsibility a teacher has taken on or help you achieve recruitment or retention goals. This allowance is paid to teachers out of your bulk grant. 

More information is available on the EdPay website.

Recruitment, retention and responsibility payment – Education Payroll

Recovery of overuse#

From 2027, overuse will be recovered from schools’ quarterly operational funding instalments at the current rates in the applicable collective agreement. 

The first recovery for Quarter 1 2027 will be from the July 2027 operational grant funding instalment.

Salary protection#

If you are required to reduce salary units and/or management allowances to stay within your entitlement, you may need to pay salary protection to impacted teachers. The cost of salary protection will be paid from your operational funding.

Where to find support#

The New Zealand School Boards Association can provide support and guidance to schools that need help to reduce their allocation of salary units and management allowances. 

Contact their Advisory and Support Centre.

Phone: 0800 782 453 (option 2)

Email: [email protected]