Teacher aide pay equity operational guidelines for schools

Guidance for schools on the implementation of the teacher aide pay equity settlement.  

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4 Additional pay equity funding for schools

Key points in this section:

  • You will receive ongoing additional pay equity funding as part of their Operational Grant instalments.
  • We will assess the funding from teacher aide payroll data from the last full year (2019) and will complete a wash-up process once we have the 2020 payroll data.
  • The first payment of the additional pay equity funding will be on 28 August 2020. This will be an estimate of what you require including funding for pay equity rates and Tiaki allowance backdated to 12 February 2020.

We will automatically translate every teacher aide from their previous CA pay scale to the new pay equity pay scale. This is a point to point translation following the translation rules of the settlement. 

We will fund the point to point translation from the current CA pay step rate to the new pay equity rate for each teacher aide. This section outlines what funding you will receive, funding timing and how it will be delivered.

The additional pay equity funding, calculated using estimated data, will cover the new pay equity rates and Tiaki allowances backdated to 12 February 2020. You will receive this on 28 August 2020.

We will calculate adjustments to this funding in a wash-up process paid on 1 October 2020 and 1 April 2021 to cover any changes between the original estimate and your actual 2020 payroll data.

This additional pay equity funding will continue on an ongoing basis, paid at the same time as your quarterly Operational Grant instalments.

  • 4.1 Automatic translation to the new pay equity pay scale
    • We will calculate your additional pay equity funding by translating teacher aides from the previous pay CA scale to the new pay equity pay scale. This is a point to point translation following the translation rules of the settlement. Point to point means that teacher aides will be transferred from their current point on the CA pay scale to the equivalent point on the pay equity pay scale.

      For example, those on CA pay scale grade A, step 4 will translate to pay equity pay scale grade A, step 3.

      CA pay scale grade A, step 4 will translate to pay equity scale grade A

       

      Section Six – Translating to the new pay equity pay scale explains how the point to point movement works for teacher aides who started their role before 29 November 2019, and for those who started on or after 29 November 2019.
      The difference in your school’s point to point translation will be the basis of your ongoing funding in this settlement, to make sure you have sufficient funding to pay the new pay equity rates.

  • 4.2 Additional pay equity funding calculation
    • To estimate the additional pay equity funding your school needs, we need to use payroll data that covers a full year. As the last full year of data is 2019, we will use this data to estimate the initial additional pay equity funding that your school will require. This is similar to the information we used to work out additional funding in the non-teaching staff CA in November 2019.

      We will be using anonymised payroll data for all teacher aides employed at schools during 2019. The data includes grade, step, days in the role, total paid hours, Tiaki allowances paid, and base salary rate.

      Education Payroll will request additional information from you about your teacher aides who perform Tiaki work.

      We know this will be an estimate and that this data may not represent current teacher aides employed by your school or the hours that they will work in 2020. However, this means that we can provide you with some funding towards the cost of the settlement sooner. We will complete a wash-up exercise to make additional payments in 1 October 2020 and 1 April 2021, so we can adjust for the actual teacher aides employed by your school or the hours worked in 2020.

      Calculating the additional pay equity funding

      The rate effective from 29 November 2019, is called the non-teaching staff pay rate, and the rate effective from 12 February 2020, is referred to as the pay equity rate.

      The additional pay equity funding will be calculated based on the difference between the pay equity rate, and the non-teaching staff pay rate, multiplied by the total hours paid. You will receive the first payment on 28 August 2020. This payment will also include the estimated amount of funding you need for the settlement until the end of the 2020 school year.

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      Schools already received funding for the change between the non-teaching staff pay rate and the pay rates applicable prior to November 2019 settlement in March 2020. We are continuing to provide this funding to you in Operational Grant instalments.

      For new schools that opened during 2020, we will estimate your teacher aide pay equity funding based on an existing school of a similar type, including location, number of learning support students and size. This estimate will be adjusted during the wash-up process.

      Schools which don't use Education Payroll

      If you don't pay your teacher aides though the central Education Payroll system, we will use information already collected from you about the teacher aides you employed in 2019 to calculate the additional pay equity funding. However, we will need further information about what was paid to teacher aides for the Tiaki allowance under the CA. We will contact you to obtain this information.

      We will continue to collect information from schools who don't pay their teacher aides through Education Payroll so that we can correctly calculate the additional pay equity funding.

  • 4.3 Ongoing funding
    • We will support you with ongoing funding to meet the increased pay equity costs for teacher aides directly arising from the settlement. This includes:

      • funding for the increase between the non-teaching staff pay rate and the new pay equity pay rate backdated to 12 February 2020 (additional funding)
      • funding for additional annual progression which arises from the settlement (such as teacher aides who were previously in grade B, and are now able to progress over time to the top of grade B-C (additional funding)
      • the 1.8% increase to the 2020 Operation Grant funding (already provided)
      • additional funding to meet CA costs (non-teaching rate costs) in excess of 1.8% (already provided).

      On 27 November 2020, the pay rates for teacher aides will increase by another 3% as part of the 2019 CA settlement. We will provide you with additional funding to cover this increase.

      We know that schools receive funding from different sources to employ teacher aides, such as:

      • Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS)
      • English as a Second Language (ESOL)
      • Resource Teachers: Learning and Behaviour (RTLB)
      • Schools' Operational Grant (adjusted annually)
      • School Donations Scheme
      • Local fundraising
      • From other agencies, e.g. Ministry of Health, Ōranga Tamariki, Ministry of Social Development and Accident Compensation Corporation

      We will provide pay equity funding for all teacher aides regardless of the funding source. The settlement has no direct impact on these sources of funding.

      We are talking to other agencies to let them know about the settlement and the new pay equity rates, but this does not guarantee that other agencies will change their funding. If you have questions about the teacher aide funding that you receive from another agency, please contact them directly.

      If you have enrolled verified students under the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) and the School High Health Needs Fund (SHHNF) Schemes, you may receive a learning support teacher aide (LSTA) contribution to help meet the cost of teacher aide rates. This is funded through learning support.

      From 1 July 2020, this hourly rate has increased from $18 per hour to $19 per hour.

  • 4.4 Timing of funding
    • You will receive funding for this settlement at three points:

      Out of cycle payment: 28 August 2020

      On 28 August 2020 you will receive the first payment based on estimated 2019 data. It will include the funding you need for the settlement until the end of the 2020 school year. This payment will include funds for the backdated pay equity rate increase (including holiday pay) and the new Tiaki allowance.

      We know that this estimate may not accurately represent the current teacher aides employed by your school, or the hours that they worked in 2020.

      Interim wash-up 2020: 1 October 2020

      In October, we will do an interim wash-up process using the available 2020 payroll data to re-estimate your required funding based on the teacher aides employed in the first six months of 2020, and the hours that they actually worked. This is to ensure that you have sufficient funding to cover the costs when the payroll changes are implemented in November 2020.

      If you do not receive sufficient funding you will receive an additional payment as part of this process. If funding is overestimated, your school will not receive any additional funding.

      Final wash-up 2020: 1 April 2021

      We are unable to accurately calculate your total funding until the 2020 year is finished. In early 2021, we will do a calculation to confirm whether you are entitled to additional funding above the estimated August 2020 payment and interim wash-up completed in October 2020. If you do not receive sufficient funding you will receive an additional payment as part of this process. If funding is overestimated, your funding for the following year will be reduced.

  • 4.5 Funding monitoring
    • The new pay equity rates will apply to all eligible teacher aides, who are either covered by the CA or who have signed the new IEA.

      We will monitor what schools pay their teacher aides. If schools do not pay staff the new pay equity rates, they will be in breach of their contractual obligations, and we will cease to provide settlement funding.

  • 4.6 Employees with multiple roles
    • *This applies to all teacher aides regardless of start date.

      If an employee is performing two different and separate roles, such as a teacher aide and an administrator, you should split these into different roles.

      You should make sure that your staff have:

      • Job descriptions / written requirements that outline the skills, demands and responsibilities outlined in each of the different roles.
      • A letter of offer that clearly defines the different roles, hours allocated to each and the corresponding pay rates (including Tiaki allowance, if applicable).
      • Accepted an IEA (if not a NZEI Te Riu Roa member) that clearly outline the different roles, hours allocated to each role and the corresponding pay rates (including Tiaki allowance, if applicable).

      You need to ensure this is correctly set up before teacher aides are moved to the pay equity pay rates.

      For more information on preparing job descriptions, letters of offer and outlining roles in an IEA, schools should contact NZSTA - eradvice@nzsta.org.nz or call 0800 782 435 (option 2).

      Case study

       Rose icon

      Rose | 10 hours teacher aide – 10 hours librarian

      Rose is working 10 hours as a teacher aide and 10 hours as the librarian.  She will have separate job descriptions for each role. For her 10 hours as a teacher aide, she will be set up with the teacher aide designation code. For the 10 hours as a librarian, she will be set up under the librarian designation code.

      If she is required to perform any Tiaki duties during her work as a teacher aide, she can claim the relevant teacher aide Tiaki allowance. If she needs to perform Tiaki duties during her work as the librarian, the previous dirty work allowance applies.

       

       

       

Actions for school icon

Action for schools

Provide Education Payroll with requested information about the teacher aides working in your schools and the Tiaki allowance. 

 

Case Study

case study hazel icon

Hazel | Grade B, step 7 > Grade B-C, step 4

 

  

Before 29 November 2019, Hazel was on grade B, step 7 earning $19.48 per hour. Following the 29 November 2019 CA settlement, her pay increased to $21.15 per hour. The pay equity settlement sees her translated to pay equity grade B-C, step 4 earning $25.21 per hour from 12 February 2020 (paid to teacher aides in November). From 27 November 2020, she will receive a further 3% increase as part of the 2019 CA settlement (paid to teacher aides on 3 December 2020). 

  

 

Prior to 29 Nov 2019

From 29 Nov 2019

From 12 Feb 2020

From 27 Nov 2020 (3% increase)

Teacher aide’s hourly pay rate

$19.48

$21.15

$25.21

$25.97

 

How is the funding (per hour) comprised:

 

 

 

 

School contribution from their Operational Grant, or other funding sources.

$19.48

     

School contribution as a result of the 1.8% increase to schools' Operational Grant in 2020.

 

$0.35

   

Ministry contribution for the increase pay rates from the 2019 CA settlement.

 

$1.32

   

Additional pay equity funding from the Ministry (backdated to 12 February 2020).

 

 

$4.06

 

Additional funding from the Ministry for the 3% increase to rates as a result of the 2019 CA settlement.

 

 

 

$0.76

This funding example only applies up to 31 December 2020.