Employing teachers from operational funding

This page provides guidance on rules and responsibilities of employing teachers from operational funding.

Level of complianceMain audienceOther

Required

  • Principals and Tumuaki
  • Boards
  • Administrators

If a board chooses to employ teachers from operational funding, they must manage the associated financial obligations and conditions. Your board is responsible for planning, budgeting and monitoring any additional teaching resource carefully to avoid financial risk.

Rules for employing teachers from operational funding

The Minister of Education has agreed, under section 580(b) of the Education and Training Act 2020(external link), that boards may employ and fund the payment of teachers, either permanently or temporarily, from their operational funding under the following conditions.

  • Your board is satisfied it has enough financial resources in the short and long term to meet the ongoing fortnightly salary costs, and other associated costs, of any board-funded staff. 
  • Your board accepts responsibility for the payment of any associated costs, including ACC levies, recruitment, retention and responsibility (3R) payments, relief teacher costs, and collective agreement entitlements. 
  • If your board must reduce its entitlement staffing, the Ministry will meet surplus staffing costs as stated on our Surplus staffing support for disestablishing staff page. However, if your board's entitlement staffing doesn’t need to be reduced, you're responsible for meeting surplus staffing costs.

Surplus staffing support for disestablishing staff

  • Your board can’t use employing staff from operational funding as a reason for seeking extra accommodation, to determine any grading of your school, or to enhance staffing or management provisions. 
  • Your board is satisfied that there are genuine reasons related to the operational requirements of the school for the appointment of any temporary staff on fixed-term employment agreements. 
  • Your board has fully considered the merits and consequences of making any permanent appointments from operational funding. 
  • Your board has fully considered the consequences of moving a teacher from bulk grant (BG or operational funding) to teachers’ salaries (TS) or vice versa during the term of an appointment, including the effects on teacher time allowances. 
  • Your board must agree to us holding a current direct debit authority on your board's bank account. The direct debit form is available from:

Accounts Receivable
Business Processing Centre
Ministry of Education
PO Box 1666
Wellington

Phone: +64 4 463 8119

Checklist of costs to consider when employing teachers from operational funding

Employing additional staff from operational funding can result in extra associated costs. Use the following checklist to establish what other costs your board might incur. The payments could be effective immediately, or come into effect in the longer term.

Note that the costs in the checklist are indicative only. The items listed might not apply to every school or every situation.

Checklist of costs to consider when employing teachers from operational funding [PDF, 15 KB]

Your obligations — record keeping and paying teachers

Noting and keeping decisions

Any decisions your board makes to employ teachers using operational funding must be noted in your board minutes and kept for audit purposes.

Paying teachers correctly — salary coding

Code all salary payments and associated costs for teachers you employ from operational funding as BG on instructions to the service centre.

Visit the Novopay(external link) website for more information on payroll instructions.

Last reviewed: Has this been useful? Give us your feedback