Surplus Staffing
Definition
A school has a surplus staffing situation if the number of employees
employed at the time is greater than the number of employees that can be
employed in the future.
This may include a review of the number of permanent 'board funded' teachers.
Surplus staffing provisions are also applicable if the number of salary units
the school may allocate to teachers is reduced.
Either might happen where the school is amalgamating with another school
or is changing its status or is closing. The most frequent reason, however,
is that the school roll has dropped, reducing the number of teachers it can
employ at the government's expense.
A school roll drop can also affect the number of support staff a school
can continue to employ, as the operational funding reduces.
Dealing with a surplus staffing situation is almost always a time of
anxiety for the principal and staff. Principals need to promote staff
welfare, keep staff fully informed, maintain the confidence and commitment of
staff involved, and support and advise the staff members losing their jobs at
the completion of the process.
NZEI Field Staff are available to
work through this process. Make
contact early. Click here for
contact details.
Information
Resources
As managers of staff, principals need quality information to make staffing
decisions. These decisions affect everyone's lives profoundly. Principals
need to be absolutely certain of their facts.
The
union
NZEI Te Riu Roa will
provide advice. Field staff should be consulted as soon as the staffing
entitlement notice is received. NZEI Te Riu Roa also publishes an NZEI News with information on surplus staffing each year.
If the surplus staffing situation involves manual training teachers in an
intermediate school or manual training centre, or
it is an area school, it is essential to make contact with both the local
NZEI and PPTA field staff and discuss the process fully.
Surplus
Staffing Training Module
NZEI Te Riu Roa has
developed a training module to assist principals in understanding their
staffing entitlements and working through the surplus staffing process. This
module has been used successfully with principals' associations, clusters and
with individual principals.
The module is available through the local NZEI Te Riu Roa field staff or regional office. Click here for contact details.
Collective
Agreements
The school should have a copy of every employment agreement applicable to
staff.
The collective agreements covering primary and area school teachers and
principals set out the provisions and entitlements in a surplus staffing
situation.
Permanent
Part-time Teachers
Permanent part time teachers who lose some of their hours as a consequence
of a staff surplus situation are entitled to two months notice of any
intended reduction.
NZEI provides information to
all schools by NZEI New annually.
Support
Staff
The provisions in the Support Staff in Schools Collective Agreement, Part
6, include both redeployment and redundancy. While they are different to the
teachers' provisions, the principles of identification and how people should
be treated are essentially the same.
One key difference is that support staff must be consulted before it is
decided that there is a surplus situation. This is a contractual requirement
and enables an exploration of possible alternatives if there is a surplus.
Ministry
of Education Staffing Notices
These detail staffing entitlements. Read the notices carefully,
remembering to check for information about unit allocation, and seek
clarification of the school's circumstances where necessary. Check the
allocation for the next year against the current year to confirm the
requirement for a surplus staffing process to be initiated.
Enquiries may be made to the Ministry district office staffing officer and
the New Zealand School Trustees Association.
If the school is an integrated school refer to
the Deed of Integration to check the requirements for 'tagged positions'.
More info at: http://www.minedu.govt.nz
Individual
Employment Agreements
The model individual agreements for teachers and principals also contain
surplus staffing provisions that mirror the collective agreement. Principals
should contact an NZEI field officer with any inquiries.
Surplus
Staffing Policy/Procedure
Boards of trustees are required by the State Sector Act, school charters
and employment agreements to be good employers. As part of this all schools
should have a clearly documented surplus staffing policy/procedure covering
every position in the school.
The policy/procedure will establish the good employer guidelines for the
principal and board. It should provide a clear statement for staff on how the
principal and board will deal with any surplus staffing situation.
The policy/procedure guidelines should indicate:
- application
of agreement provisions
- informing
NZEI and/or PPTA
- what is
expected of the principal in consulting with and informing staff
- the
processes for conducting the needs analysis and identifying the
positions and or units to be lost
- involvement
of the board in the processes
- requirements
for internal applications
- provisions
for review or discussion of decisions
- how staff
and parents will be informed
- support for staff identified as "surplus".
The surplus staffing policy/procedure must be consistent with all the
relevant collective agreements.
Dealing
with a surplus
Make
contact with NZEI Field Staff for advice and support
Attrition: Initial Consultation
It may be obvious that attrition will deal with a surplus situation - there
may be an unfilled vacancy, a reliever employed in a vacancy, or a staff
member may have given notice of their resignation. If this takes effect
before the reduction must be made, attrition must and will have dealt with
the surplus.
If not, staff must be consulted, including those currently on leave.
Invite them to discuss any plans for a career change in confidence and
without prejudice. Take care not to accept hasty decisions. Take extra care
not to apply any pressure. Make sure staff are aware
that they would not be eligible for any of the surplus staffing entitlements
if they are intending to resign.
If attrition does not deal with the surplus, it is necessary to undertake
a needs analysis.
Carrying out the Needs Analysis
The principal should gather all necessary information available from:
- applicable
employment agreements
- Ministry
circulars, staffing advice to the school
- NZEI Rourou
- NZEI and
PPTA field staff
- experienced
colleagues
- School
Trustees Association.
Closely review the school's charter, mission statement, development plan,
and policies on units and surplus staffing.
Analysing School Needs
This must be done in consultation with the staff. The surplus staffing
policy should detail how staff will be consulted. The principal must clearly
explain what has to be done and why. The process should be transparent.
Consider the school charter and its mission
statement. What is demanded of the school? What are the local
goals? What does the school development plan focus on? What staffing will the
school require to meet the school development plan
over the next year?
Identify needs. What is the school roll and
how is that made up? What is required to implement the curriculum for this
mix? What is required to meet any special needs? What is required to ensure
continuity of programmes? Are there any special
community expectations on the school? What are the students' pastoral needs?
Write a description without teachers' names, of the school's
present structure and organisation.
In consultation with staff, identify a future organisation to meet the school needs, using the number of units and positions that the school
is to have once the reduction has been effected.
Review the current job descriptions: are
changes necessary? What criteria for selection are suggested?
Present a surplus staffing plan to the board of trustees
- Proposed
school organisation
- Positions/units
at risk
- Identification
process e.g. automatic identification, available positions to be
internally advertised
- Proposed
job descriptions and criteria for selection
- Reminder
of surplus staffing policy, particularly selection/identification
process and board involvement.
Identification
Process
The difference between the present structure and the future organisation will identify which area of the staffing
structure the surplus positions and/or units should come from.
It may identify an obvious position where there is only one position in
that area. If there is more than one such position, the remaining positions
must be internally advertised and teachers in that area should apply for
them.
If both positions and units must be lost, the identification processes
must be co-ordinated. It is preferable to consider
teaching and other responsibilities separately, by first identifying where
the unit is to be lost, and then which teacher must lose their job.
The surplus staffing process cannot result in either a
teacher losing more units than the school has to lose, or units being
reallocated to other teachers.
Inform staff of the identification process including:
- positions
available, roles, responsibilities, job descriptions and the number and
type of units attached to each position
- closing
date for applications
- requirements
for applications - e.g. letters of application, CVs, interviews
- selection committee personnel.
Ensure that the board of trustees confirms in writing the decisions made
in the identification process. Letters should be given to each teacher
involved. These letters should indicate the application of the agreement provisions, clearly advise whether or not the teacher was
identified for a reduction in units and/or deemed to be "surplus",
and any changes in job descriptions.
Voluntary
Identification
Only teachers designated as "assistant principal" or
"deputy principal" can choose to be identified as surplus, and only
in some circumstances. They must have
lost all their units as the result of the identification process and the school must also be required to
lose a teacher.
They may either:
Elect to be identified as surplus: they
will be identified and have access to the staff surplus options; or
Lose the units and seek to be retained as a basic scale
teacher. In this scenario the school
is required to go through a selection process to determine which basic scale
teacher will be identified as surplus.
Keeping Staff Informed
- Ask affected teacher/s how they would prefer to be informed of decisions; e.g. in writing or personally, after school, on a Friday
- Ask
affected teacher/s how and when they would like other staff and parents
to be informed
- Be
prepared to discuss the identification process with affected teachers.
Support
for staff
- Invite
your NZEI field staff to a staff meeting to explain the agreement
provisions and talk with staff
- Make sure
that teachers have information on NZEI Member Support Personnel (MSP)and field staff contacts
- Assess
collegial support needed and put it in place
- Gather
information on professional counselling available such as career and change management and personal counselling; offer suggestions if appropriate (Field Staff can be contacted for
advice)
- Recognise that grieving is a natural reaction to loss. Be informed about the grieving process. Someone is losing a valued job.
Surplus
Staffing Options
Teachers who are identified as surplus have up to four options:
Redeployment: 30 school weeks further
employment in the school (or another school, if both Boards of Trustees
agree).
Retraining: 30 school weeks paid leave to
undertake retraining courses approved by the Secretary for Education. Teachers are required to meet their
own fees and costs (unless their board agrees to pay them).
Should neither of the above options be deemed appropriate then
there are two additional options:
Severance: 7 to 23 weeks' salary,
depending on length of service.
Long service payment: 26 weeks salary, for
teachers who have at least 25 years of service.
The possibilities of redeployment and retraining must be thoroughly
explored with the identified teacher. The Ministry of Education will only
fund severance or long service payments where it agrees that the first two
options are inappropriate in the particular circumstances.
Make sure the teachers are aware that accepting a severance or long
service payment has several disadvantages if they want to return to teaching
in the schools sector. In particular they may have to refund some or all of
the payment if they commence permanent employment within the timeframe for
which they have received a payment, and they will lose all accumulated
service-based entitlements such as sick leave.
Salary
Protection: Units
Teachers losing units will continue to receive the same salary as when they
held the unit for up to one year, or the remaining duration (if shorter) in
the case of fixed term units.
Where, within a 12 month period, the school subsequently gains units, they
must go to the teachers who have lost units, in the order they lost them. The
agreement specifies a selection process where two or more teachers lose units
at the same time.
Support
Staff
The Support Staff in Schools Collective Agreement requires the employer to
make reasonable efforts to find alternative employment for the surplus staff
member. If no such position can be found, redundancy is payable depending on
length of employment.
Planning
the future
It is important to maintain the morale and commitment of surplus staff,
and to maintain cohesion and collegiality with all staff. This time can also
be approached as a time of opportunity. For example, it can be an opportunity
to assess professional development needs, and consult on special projects
that might be undertaken in the school.
- Take time
to talk with the teacher to assess professional strengths and skills
- Help the
teacher compile an up-to-date CV
- Offer to
act as a referee
- Suggest to
the board of trustees that it provide a detailed statement of service in
the school and a testimonial to accompany job applications
- Remind the
board to make provision for the reasonable costs of attending job
interviews
- Inform the
teacher clearly about provisions for reinstatement in any positions that
are established or become vacant in the school.
Pastoral
care
The loss of a job is a major loss. It is to be expected that staff members
who are identified as surplus will find the decision hard to accept. Grief is
a normal reaction to loss. When we grieve we go through several stages
towards acceptance and planning for the future.
An initial reaction to loss is anger. Decisions and procedures may be
questioned. Principals may be criticised or
attacked. The staff member who feels angry needs to be understood. Accept the
anger as normal and necessary.
It can help for principals to put themselves in the staff member's
position and think about what they would like others to do for them at this
time. It is not the right time to explain the problems the principal may have
had in making the decision.
The staff member may find it hard to maintain energy and commitment. Depression
is a feature of this stage of grieving. Senior staff will have a special
responsibility for support.
The principal can help the staff member accept the future by sensitively
contributing ideas, especially if they choose redeployment. Don't expect them
to take all the initiatives, but encourage creative thinking!
Nothing succeeds like success. Positive achievements during the employment
protection period will build confidence. With confidence comes acceptance and the ability to move into the future. The statements of
service, testimonials, an up-to-date CV and a good referee are vital now.
When the staff member leaves the school their contribution should be recognised. Leaving is a rite of passage; everyone needs
to feel good about it.
Common reactions
Principals say . . .
Everything has been done properly. I've taken great pains to inform staff at
every point-now I have a teacher who just won't accept the decision.
I thought that when someone said they'd resign all my troubles were over - and
then they changed their mind. I never thought I'd have to tell someone they
were going to lose their job.
Teachers say . . .
We couldn't understand the process the board was following. One minute they
said they wanted our CVs, next minute they said they wanted to interview us
all, then they changed their minds. We can't be
expected to teach their kids successfully while we're worried sick about our
jobs.
When I heard I was the surplus teacher, the bottom dropped out of my life.
I know it didn't mean I was a bad teacher, but that's what it felt like. My
self-esteem disappeared.
