Surplus Staffing


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Page index:
Definition
Information Resources
Collective Agreements
Ministry of Education Staffing Notices
Individual Employment Agreements
Surplus Staffing Policy/Procedure
Dealing with a surplus
Analysing School Needs
Identification Process
Voluntary Identification
Surplus Staffing Options
Salary Protection: Units
Support Staff
Planning the future
Pastoral care

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.

For more information about how to work through this process contact 0800 NZEI Help (0800 893 443

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.

For more information about this module contact 0800 NZEI Help (0800 893 443

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.

The Primary Teachers Collective Agreement contains entitlement to staff surplus provisions for permanent part time teachers who lose all their hours as a consequence of a staff surplus process.

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.
The Support Staff in Schools Collective Agreement

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'.

Individual Employment Agreements

Individual agreements promulgated by the MOE for teachers and principals also contain surplus staffing provisions that mirror the collective agreement and should be referred to during the surplus staffing process.

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, including Resource Teachers Learning and Behaviour if applicable.

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 ConsultationIt 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:

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 happening. 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.