Support Staff in Schools' Collective Agreement

1.1.1 The parties to this agreement shall be NZEI Te Riu Roa, E Tū and the Secretary for Education acting under delegation from the Public Service Commissioner made pursuant to clause 6 of Schedule 3 of the Public Service Act 2020 and in accordance with s 586(5) of the Education and Training Act 2020.

1.2.1 The term of this agreement is 20 June 2022 to 19 December 2024.

1.3.1 This agreement is binding on every employer as defined in clause 1.6.3.

1.3.2 This agreement is applicable to every employee employed by an employer.

1.3.3 This agreement is not applicable to employees employed by an employer as one of the following:

1. Principal
2. Teacher
3. Adviser to teachers
4. Speech language therapist
5. Occupational therapist
6. Physiotherapist
7. Community worker
8. Pre-school worker
9. Cleaner
10. Caretaker
11. Ground-staff worker
12. Building maintenance worker
13. School transport driver
14. After school carer
15. Study centre worker
16. Hostel worker
17. Residential or domestic services employee in a special school (excluding Blind and Low Vision Education Network NZ employees)
18. Residential social worker
19. Audiologist
20. Careers advisor
21. Guidance counsellor
22. Community education/learning centre tutor
23. Community education personnel who are funded by Ministry of Education allocated tutor hours
24. Tuck shop or canteen employee (other than a manager responsible for other staff appointed after 1 January 2008).

1.3.4 This agreement is binding on those employees who are or who become members of NZEI or E tū.

1.4.1 The parties agree that the terms and conditions in this agreement may be varied at any time by written agreement between NZEI and E tū and the Secretary for Education acting under delegation from the Public Service Commissioner made pursuant to clause 6 of Schedule 3 of the Public Service Act 2020.

1.5.1 Employees who at 30 August 1992 had conditions in excess of those provided for in this agreement in respect of:

1. Long Service Leave;
2. Retirement Leave;
3. Resigning Leave; and
4. Maternity Grant

in accordance with the previous applicable contract agreement, NZ Support Staff in Schools Composite (DOC 2646), will continue to be eligible for these entitlements. These provisions are available at http://www.education.govt.nz/school/working-in-a-school/other-staff/support-staff/ [PDF, 56 KB].

1.6.1 Unless otherwise specified, terms in this agreement will have the same meaning as the Employment Relations Act 2000 and other relevant legislation.

1.6.2 “Employee” means a person to whom this agreement is applicable under clauses 1.3.2, 1.3.3 and 1.3.4.

1.6.3 “Employer” means the board (or Commissioner if applicable) of a state or integrated primary, intermediate, secondary or composite school, as defined in the Education and Training Act 2020. It does not include the board of Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu.

1.6.4 "Actual weekly hours” means the hours per week an employee is normally employed for.

1.6.5 "Earnings to be annualised” means the employee’s hourly rate multiplied by the employee’s actual weekly hours multiplied by the number of weeks in the ensuing annualisation year for which the employee shall be employed; plus

1. the annual leave to which the employee is entitled; plus
2. payment of relevant daily pay for the public holidays and additional paid holidays during the ensuing calendar year which are observed on days of the week on which the employee normally works.

Note: For clarity this includes any public holidays that are observed during term breaks and which fall on a day of the week on which the employee normally works. The parties acknowledge that payment of public holidays at the annualised rate as part of the arrangements described in this appendix is not a breach of the Holidays Act 2003.

3. The employee and employer may agree to include the first aid allowance (clause 5.3) and/or qualifications allowance (clause 3.10), where the employee has an entitlement, in an annualisation calculation.
4. The following allowances must not be included in an annualisation calculation and shall be paid only as prescribed by the collective agreement:
   1. Motor vehicle allowance (clause 5.1);
   2. Protective clothing allowance (clause 5.2)
   3. Dirty work allowance (clause 5.4);
   4. Overnight allowance (clause 5.5);
   5. Meal allowance (clause 5.6).

1.6.6 “Annualisation year” means the twelve month period commencing 31 January and ending 30 January the following year (inclusive of both dates).

1.6.7 “Weekly earnings” in relation to:

1. clause 10.2.12(a)(i); or
2. any paid parental leave entitlement in accordance with section 71T of the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987; or
3. any entitlements under the Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Compensation Act 2001

means the employee’s hourly rate multiplied by the employee’s actual weekly hours.

Partnership with Union

1.7.1 The parties to this Agreement recognise the value in their ongoing and productive relationship. Collective bargaining is a key part of those joint efforts.

1.7.2 In recognition of the value of this collective agreement and of the benefits arising out of the parties’ ongoing relationship, each full-time employee who is a member of NZEI Te Riu Roa or E tū and is bound by this Agreement as at 1 December 2022 will be paid a one-off gross payment of $750.

The payment will be pro-rated for:

1. part-time employees based on their full-time equivalent (FTE) as at 1 December 2022;
2. casual employees who have worked a minimum of 8 hours over the period 1 July to 30 November 2022, based on the of the total number of hours worked in proportion to 1.0 FTE during that period. Casual employees who worked less than 8 hours during that period are not entitled to the payment.

An employee may be eligible to have the payment calculated under more than one of the above categories. The minimum payment for any employee, regardless of FTE, will be $75, and no employee shall receive more than gross $750 in total.

Employees who are members of NZEI or E tū and are bound by this agreement as at 1 December 2022 and on that day were on approved unpaid leave under Part 6 of this agreement, are entitled to receive the one-off gross payment of $750 when they resume working, providing that they return on or before the end of Term 2, 2023 or on or before the end of Term 4, 2023 for those on parental leave. The payment will be based on the calculation for the position that would have been applicable on 1 December 2022 had they not been on approved leave.

Lump Sum Payment

1.7.3 A one-off gross lump sum of $500 will be paid to all full-time employees who are employed as at 1 December 2023.

The payment will be pro-rated for:

1. part-time employees based on their full-time equivalent (FTE) as at 1 December 2023;
2. casual employees who have worked a minimum of 8 hours over the period 1 July to 30 November 2023. The payment will be based on the of the total number of hours worked in proportion to 1.0 FTE during that period. Casual employees who worked less than 8 hours during that period are not entitled to the payment.<.li>

Employees on approved unpaid leave under Part 6 of this agreement on 1 December 2023 are entitled to receive the one-off gross payment of $500 when they resume working, providing that they return on or before the end of Term 2, 2024 or before the end of 13 November 2024 for those on parental leave. The payment will be based on the calculation for the position that would have been applicable on 1 December 2023 had they not been on approved leave.

An employee may be eligible to have the payment calculated under more than one of the above categories. However, no eligible employee will receive a total gross payment that is less than $50 or more than $500 in total.

Note: Clause 1.7 will be removed in subsequent collective agreements.