Two-hour minimum entitlement for short-term relief teachers
We are working to resolve a historic error that has led to some school employees not receiving the correct 2-hour entitlement per day of day relief or paid leave at school.
- Overview
- Payments
- Tax implications
- Overseas bank accounts
- More information
- Contact us
- Keeping yourself safe from phishing scams
Overview
Primary, secondary and area school teachers’ collective agreements state that short-term relief teachers will be paid for no less than 2 hours per day of day relief or paid leave at a school, but this has not always happened.
An improved process was put in place from 10 August 2022 to fix this. We are now making payments to correct errors made between 17 April 2012 and 9 August 2022.
Payments
Current school employees receiving a payment
| Payment date | Leave type/s and employee group/s covered | Time period covered | Number of current employees paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 June 2024 | Top-up to short-term relief teachers when they were paid for less than the 2-hour minimum entitlement for each day at each school. | 17 April 2012 to 9 August 2022 | 11,900 |
If you are a current employee due a payment, it was included in your normal pay on 25 June 2024.
If your payslip is usually emailed to you, we contacted you on the payment date with more details.
Income tax and ACC contributions were deducted using the tax code Education Payroll Limited holds for you.
If you are a member of a superannuation scheme, employee and employer contributions were calculated as part of the payment process. Student loan repayments were also deducted as required by law.
Around 330 employees who were not identified as current for the payment on 25 June, but who were identified as current on 20 August, will receive any top-up they are owed for the short-term relief teacher 2-hour minimum on 17 September.
Current school employees not receiving a payment
Most school employees did not receive a payment in this round. If you are a current short-term relief teacher and you didn’t receive a payment, you have already been paid in line with the 2-hour minimum entitlement and no remediation is due.
Former employees
We are now contacting around 8,000 former employees who are due remediation for the short-term relief teacher 2-hour minimum contractual entitlement.
Former employees owed any short-term relief teacher 2-hour minimum entitlement top-up payment will be contacted via email, text and/or letter. To receive the payment, former employees will be asked to register on the Schools Payroll Remediation Portal. So we can process the payment correctly, they will be asked to confirm their bank details, provide us with their tax information and verify their identity.
If you are a former employee and your details have changed or you have not registered on the Schools Payroll Remediation Portal, please do so. We can then contact you about this or other remediation payments if any are due.
We will also contact people acting for former employees, including deceased estates, if they are due this remediation. If you are acting on behalf of a former employee or for the estate of a deceased employee, the payment process is the same – you can register on the Schools Payroll Remediation Portal.
Schools Payroll Remediation Portal(external link)
Overseas bank accounts
If you no longer have a New Zealand bank account, you can log a query through the Schools Payroll Remediation Portal. Our team will get in touch to explain the process for making a payment to an overseas bank account.
Tax implications
You can contact Inland Revenue or the Ministry of Social Development for advice about whether this payment affects any benefits, tax credits or other support payments you receive or make.
Contact us – Inland Revenue(external link)
Getting in touch – Ministry of Social Development(external link)
More information
Schools payroll remediation programme
Contact us
If you have questions about schools payroll remediation, the best way to get in touch is via our:
You can also contact the team by:
- emailing remediation.query@education.govt.nz
- calling 0800 439 333 (8am - 5pm, Monday – Friday).
Keeping yourself safe from phishing scams
Phishing is when someone uses an email, text or phone call to try to get access to sensitive information (like bank account numbers and passwords).
For schools payroll remediation payments, we will never ask you for your bank account login and password. The information you receive from us will direct you to the Ministry of Education’s website.
Phishing scammers will claim to be from a legitimate organisation, and often have email addresses or websites that look very real. They'll often ask you to claim a prize, check your details, or tell you that your account is expiring or needs to be checked.
Email phishing scams – Netsafe(external link)
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