Primary Principals' (NZEI) Collective Agreement
Download this agreement
If you want a printed copy of this agreement we suggest you download the following PDF version.
Primary Principals' (NZEI Te Riu Roa) Collective Agreement [PDF, 778 KB]
Note that documents are available in Adobe PDF format only. Accessible versions, where available, can be supplied on request.
Email: employment.relations@education.govt.nz
Changes to the agreement
Read about the recent changes in the Primary Principals' (NZEI) Collective Agreement.
Changes to the Primary Principals’ (NZEI) Collective Agreement 2023-25
Part 5: Remuneration
Primary Principals' (NZEI) Collective Agreement
Effective: 3 July 2023 to 2 July 2025
-
5.1 Unified Pay System
5.1.1 The purpose of this clause is to maintain a Unified Pay System for principals in the state and state integrated compulsory education sector. The Unified Pay System applies to the roll-based, Equity Index and staffing components of principals’ remuneration.
5.1.2 Mechanism
- The Secretary for Education shall, within one month of ratification of any collective agreement (or relevant variation thereof) applicable to principals of secondary schools in the state and integrated school sector, notify the NZEI Te Riu Roa National Secretary of any changes to the roll-based, staffing-based, or Equity Index payment components of principals remuneration and offer such changes to principals covered by the PPCA.
- The NZEI Te Riu Roa National Secretary shall, within one month of receipt of the offer described in clause 5.1.2(a), advise the Secretary whether NZEI Te Riu Roa wishes to accept such offer. The parties agree that upon receipt of NZEI's acceptance of the offer the PPCA shall be deemed to be varied pursuant to clause 1.6 in the terms outlined in the offer as advised by the Secretary.
5.1.3 Clause 5.1 shall apply from 3 July 2023 to 2 July 2025. Thereafter this clause will cease to apply and shall have no effect.
-
5.2 Remuneration
5.2.1 A principal’s salary shall comprise the school roll-based salary (U-grade) in clause 5.2.2, the staffing-based salary component in clause 5.2.3, the Equity Index payment (where applicable) in clause 5.2.4, the payment for Leadership in Literacy and Numeracy in clause 5.2.5, and the Career payment in clause 4.4.1(f) (where applicable).
5.2.2 The Principal’s salary shall be determined in accordance with the grade of the school (i.e. U1-U16):
School roll-based salary component
U-Grade Rates effective
20 August 2021Rate effective
3 July 2023Rate effective
3 July 2024Rate effective
2 December 2024U1 $98,031 $103,913 $107,030 $118,003 U2 $98,031 $103.913 $107,030 $118,003 U3 $106,170 $112,540 $115,916 $118,003 U4 $114,489 $121,358 $124,999 $127,249 U5 $122,808 $130,176 $134,082 $136,495 U6 $127,564 $135,218 $139,274 $141,781 U7 $132,515 $140,466 $144,680 $147,284 U8 $137,468 $145,716 $150,088 $152,789 U9 $140,835 $149,285 $153,764 $156,531 U10 $144,201 $152,853 $157,439 $160,273 U11 $149,114 $158,061 $162,803 $165,733 U12 $154,028 $163,270 $168,168 $171,195 U13 $158,621 $168,138 $173,182 $176,300 U14 $163,216 $173,009 $178,199 $181,407 U15 $167,237 $177,271 $182,589 $185,876 U16 $171,260 $181,536 $186,982 $190,347 5.2.3 Staffing based salary component
In addition to the school roll-based salary component specified in clause 5.2.2, the salary of principals shall include the staffing-based salary component calculated according to the following formula:
Total Teacher Staff (TTS) Rates effective 20 August 2021 ≤ 13 ($822 * TTS) + $3,201 > 13 ($162 * TTS) + $12,231 The staffing based salary component is based on total teacher staffing that includes entitlement, attached and additional staffing, in addition to entitlement staffing transfer, teacher specific time allowances and staffing for attached units under Boards as determined in the Ministry staffing notice. It does not include teachers who may be employed above entitlement from a Board’s operations funding.
Total teacher staff shall be based on the greater of the provisional (September) staffing roll or the confirmed (March) staffing roll which is determined annually.
5.2.4 Until 27 January 2024, principals whose school held a decile rating of 1, 2, 3 or 4 will continue to receive a decile payment according to the tables in Appendix 7.
From the start of the 2024 school year, the decile payment will cease and principals in schools with an Equity Index number of 478 to 569 shall also be paid an Equity Index payment in addition to base salary as specified in 5.2.1 and 5.2.2 above. The Equity Index payment for each principal will be calculated by multiplying the Equity Index number of their school by nine, with the calculation to be undertaken annually.
- Where a principal’s remuneration is reduced either:
- In the translation from the previous decile-based payment to the Equity Index payment, or;
- Because the annual Equity Index review process results in their school falling below the Equity Index number of 478 that entitles them to an Equity Index payment;
Then their salary will be protected for a 24-month period from the point of change.
5.2.5 Leadership in Literacy and Numeracy
- A principal covered by this Agreement shall be entitled to a base per annum payment and a further per annum payment (based on entitlement teachers only, as determined in the annual provisional staffing notice). The base per annum payment will be:
Up to 22 July 2024 From 22 July 2024
up to 28 January 2025From 28 January 2025 $2,320 $4,000 $8,000 - U1 – U5 school - $100 per entitlement teacher
- U6 school - $80 per entitlement teacher
- U7 school and above - $60 per entitlement teacher.
For clarity, ‘entitlement teachers only” shall mean the school’s total staffing entitlement minus one. It shall not include attached or additional staffing.
- Where a principal’s remuneration is reduced either:
-
5.3 Definition of Roll
5.3.1 For the purposes of determining a principal’s U grade as per clauses 5.2.2 and 5.2.4 “roll” shall mean the greater of the provisional (September) staffing roll or the confirmed (March) staffing roll, as determined by the relevant Staffing Order in Council, except that students who are included in the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (at 1 July for the September school roll purposes) shall be counted on the following basis:
- Students classified as “very high” under the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme shall be counted as six instead of one;
- Students classified as “high” under the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme shall be counted as three instead of one.
Except that:
- Students at Westbridge Residential School will count as six instead of one;
- Students at Salisbury and Halswell residential schools who are not included in the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme will count as three instead of one;
- Students at Van Asch and Kelston residential schools who are not included in the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme will count as one.
-
5.4 Salary Protection
Grading Changes
5.4.1 Where the appropriate base salary of a principal (as specified in clause 5.2.2) changes as a result of a drop in grade of the position and the principal’s existing base salary exceeds the rate for the new grade; and the change in grade is contained in the September Staffing Notice, and is not countered by an increase generated in the 1 March roll, the principal’s salary above the rate for the new grade will be protected for a period of 24 months from the beginning of the school year that follows the September Staffing Notice. After the 24 month period of salary protection, the principal shall be paid no more than the rate for the new grade. Salary protection under this clause shall lapse if the principal accepts an alternative position.
5.4.2 Where a grading reduction determined by the September provisional roll, is countered by a grading increase generated by the 1 March roll, the U grade of the principal reverts to the previous higher U grade and the associated salary protection ceases.
5.4.3 Where the grade of a position increases, and this increase is contained in the September Staffing Notice, the principal will move to the new rate at the beginning of the new school year.
5.4.4 For the avoidance of doubt, the base rate for the purposes of salary protection in clause 5.4.1 includes the base salary according to U grade weighting (roll size) but does not include the salary generated by the supplementary formula in clause 5.2.3 (FTTE size).
-
5.5 Payment of Salaries
5.5.1 Basis of Calculation
The salaries of principals shall be paid fortnightly and the gross salary for a full pay period is calculated as 14/365ths of the annual salary rate. For broken periods the calculation is the number of days due multiplied by the annual rate and divided by 365. Gross salary comprises all salary and allowances (temporary and those paid on a regular basis).
5.5.2 Method of Payment
Salaries shall be paid fortnightly by direct credit to the principal’s nominated bank account.
5.5.3 Holiday Pay
Holiday pay at the rate of 30 per cent of salary shall be based on the school year and shall not be payable beyond 27 January. For holiday pay purposes, teaching service shall comprise all paid service including weekends and statutory holidays, but not school vacations. Time spent on secondment to a Specified Education Sector Agency will not be recognised as service for the purposes of holiday pay.
-
5.6 Retirement Savings
5.6.1 Principals are eligible to join a KiwiSaver scheme in accordance with the terms of those schemes.
5.6.2 Employer or government contributions to retirement or superannuation schemes which are closed to new members (and include the Teachers’ Retirement Savings Scheme and the Government Superannuation Fund), shall continue in accordance with the terms of those schemes.
5.6.3 Where government or employer contributions are made to another retirement or superannuation scheme of which a principal is a member, then that principal is only eligible to receive employer or government contributions to a KiwiSaver scheme to the extent that those combined contributions equal the minimum KiwiSaver employer or government contributions. If the government or employer contributions made to another retirement or superannuation scheme of which a principal is a member equal or exceed to the full minimum KiwiSaver employer or government contributions, then that principal is not eligible to receive employer or government contributions to a KiwiSaver scheme.