Pay equity rates

Learn about the new pay rates for teacher aides. For the majority of teacher aides, the new pay equity rates result in an increase ranging from 19-30% from the old rates of October 2019.

Level of compliance	Main audience	Other
Required	Principals and Tumuaki Boards Payroll administrators	Teacher aides

Level of compliance

Main audience

Other

Required

Principals and Tumuaki
Boards
Payroll administrators

Teacher aides

The settlement of the teacher aides’ pay equity claim has introduced new employment conditions for teacher aides. These conditions must be adhered to by schools.

Key information

Key documents
Online pay rate calculator
Download the pay equity rates factsheet [PDF, 156 KB]
The new Work Matrix
Operational guidelines for schools [PDF, 1.7 MB]

Education Payroll will automatically translate every eligible teacher aide from the old pay scale to the new pay equity pay scale using a 'point to point' movement based on the translation rules in the settlement agreement.

Find out your new pay rates with the online pay rate calculator.

Two different translation rules based on start date

After the Support Staff in Schools Collective Agreement settlement in November 2019, teacher aides were offered the 2019 living wage rate of $21.15 per hour, or a 3% increase if they were earning more than this.

This had the effect of collapsing the existing pay scales, particularly in grade A and B.

The new teacher aide pay equity scale opens up this collapsed CA scale and acknowledges the varying levels of experience within the teacher aide grades. For this reason, for those employed before 29 November 2019, the step they were on before the 2019 CA settlement is used in the translation.

Teacher aides who started in their role before 29 November 2019

Their pay rate will translate to the corresponding pay equity rate based on the step they held under the 2017-2019 Support Staff in Schools’ Collective Agreement as set out in the table below.

To work out the point to point translation, Education Payroll will look at the teacher aide’s current grade and step, and convert them to the equivalent grade and step on the new pay equity scale.

In some instances, two or more steps may merge into a new step on the pay equity scale. These merges are outlined using lines on the table below. They include:

CA grade A, step 1 and 2 translate to pay equity grade A, step 1
CA grade B, step 8 and 9 translate to pay equity grade B-C, step 5 (unless they have been on grade B, step 9 who have been on that step for two years or more, as outlined below)
CA grade C, step 13 and 14 translate to pay equity grade B-C, step 10
Teacher aides paid within grade D range of rates will translate to the step closest to their current pay rate on the pay equity pay scale grade D steps 2 to 6, provided the rate is equal to, or higher than their current rate.

The exception to the point to point translation is teacher aides on grade B, step 9 who have been on that step for two years or more. These teacher aides will translate to pay equity grade B-C, step 6, unless you have a discussion with the teacher aide (by 14 August) and advise Education Payroll in writing by 20 August 2020 that the role held by the teacher aide remains solely within grade B of the Work Matrix. In this case, they translate to pay equity grade B-C, step 5. It is best practice for you as the employer, to keep a copy of this advice in the employee’s personnel file.

Grade	Step	Previous rates up to 28 November 2019	Work Matrix Grade	Step	Pay equity rates effective 12 February 2020	Rates effective 27 November 2020
A	1	17.70	A	1	21.20	21.84
	2	17.70		1	21.20	21.84
	3	17.70		2	21.65	22.30
	4	17.70		3	22.10	22.76

B	4	17.70	B-C	1	23.02	23.71
	5	18.21		2	23.75	24.46
	6	18.86		3	24.48	25.22
	7	19.48		4	25.21	25.97
	8	20.09		5	25.94	26.72
	9	20.69		5	25.94	26.72
C	9	20.69		6	26.54	27.34
	10	21.42		7	27.27	28.09
	11	22.24		8	28.00	28.84
	12	23.06		9	28.73	29.59
	13	23.88		10	29.46	30.34
	14	24.70		10	29.46	30.34

D	14	24.70	D	1	29.46	30.34
	Range of Rates	«		2	30.50	31.42
				3	31.55	32.49
				4	32.59	33.57
				5	33.15	34.14
	15	33.67		6	34.68	35.72

Teacher aides whose employment started on or after 29 November 2019

Their pay rate will translate to the corresponding pay equity rate as follows:

A teacher aide who is paid in Grade A (step 1) will translate to Work Matrix Grade A, step 1.
A teacher aide who is paid in Grade B (step 1) will translate to Work Matrix Grade B-C, step 1.
A teacher aide who is paid in Grade B (step 2) will translate to Work Matrix Grade B-C, step 5.
A teacher aide who is paid in Grade C (steps 2 to 7) will translate to the applicable step in Work Matrix Grade B-C, steps 6 to 10.
A teacher aide who is paid in Grade D (step 7) will translate to Work Matrix Grade D, step 1.
A teacher aide who is paid in Grade D (step 8) will translate to Work Matrix Grade D, step 6
Teacher aides paid within Grade D range of rates will translate to the closest step in Work Matrix Grade D steps 2 to 6, provided the rate is equal to or higher than their current rate.

Grade	Step	Rates effective 29 November 2019	Work Matrix Grade	Step	Pay equity rates effective 12 February 2020	Rates effective 27 November 2020
A	1	21.15	A	1	21.20	21.84
				2	21.65	22.30
				3	22.10	22.76

B		21.15	B-C	1	23.02	23.71
				2	23.75	24.46
				3	24.48	25.22
				4	25.21	25.97
	2	21.31		5	25.94	26.72
C	2	21.31		6	26.54	27.34
	3	22.06		7	27.27	28.09
	4	22.91		8	28.00	28.84
	5	23.75		9	28.73	29.59
	6	24.60		10	29.46	30.34
	7	25.44		10	29.46	30.34

D	7	25.44	D	1	29.46	30.34
	«	«		2	30.50	31.42
				3	31.55	32.49
				4	32.59	33.57
				5	33.15	34.14
	8	34.68		6	34.68	35.72

Appointment of a new teacher aide

When the Ministry, NZSTA and NZEI Te Riu Roa investigated the teacher aide pay equity claim, we gathered information about teacher aide work, and used this to develop the Work Matrix table.

This matrix has four grades (A, B, C, D) showing the most common skills, responsibilities and demands that fall under three broad areas of Teacher Aide work:

General support (classroom/academic)
Additional support (e.g. behavioural, high health or pastoral)
Te Ao Māori - acknowledging the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, and the bicultural foundations of Aotearoa New Zealand, all students should have the opportunity to acquire knowledge of te reo Māori me ōna tikanga.

The Work Matrix sets out the most common skills, responsibilities and demands that apply to teacher aides for each of the grades. The grade a teacher aide is on will determine the teacher aides pay rate.

When creating a new teacher aide role, assess the job description against the skills, demands and responsibilities outlined in the pay equity Work Matrix table to assign the grade and step. A teacher aide will be placed in the grade that reflects the highest skills, demands or responsibilities performed regularly and on an ongoing basis in their role. The teacher aide doesn’t have to do every activity in a grade in order to sit within it.

If a teacher aide performs a role that mainly requires skills, demands, and responsibilities within grade A, but also performs on a regular and ongoing basis skills, demands, or responsibilities from grade B, then grade B would apply to them. You will need to consider what makes up the majority of the role, and not the things that are a one-off or isolated event.

When considering the three broad areas of work, the role may include all three of the criteria (General Support, Additional Support, Te Reo Māori), a blend of two, or it may be covered in just one of the criteria, for example Te Reo Māori. In other words, if a teacher aide does one skill, demand or responsibility in a higher grade on a regular and ongoing basis they need to be graded in the higher grade.

A teacher aide can be placed on any step within the applicable Work Matrix grade. When determining the step consider any particular skills and qualifications held by the teacher aide as well as any previous relevant paid or unpaid work experience.

More detailed information about the new pay scale and case studies can be found in the Operational Guidelines for Schools.