Hours of work - Call back days
PPTA Te Wehengarua advice to teachers regarding clause 5.6 of the Secondary Teachers' Collective Agreement (STCA).
Note that teachers who are employed at Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu have different rules and entitlements that apply to callback days. These are explained in Part VII of this page.
If you encounter any issues with your employer’s use of callback days, please seek advice from a Field officer before making any decision about refusing to attend.
Documents
The term callback day is a term colloquially used to describe days when your employer requires teachers to attend school (or elsewhere) even though the school is closed for instruction. Callback days are therefore an exception to the general rule that employers cannot require teachers to attend school at times when the school is not open for instruction (STCA, cl 5.6.1).
In somewhat oversimplified terms, the possibility of a callback day exists when the school is not open for instruction. That means, if you are required to attend school outside of 8.30 am-4.30 pm on an ordinary school day during term time (when the school is open for instruction), this could generally only happen in line with the callback provisions of the STCA. Similarly, if you are required to attend school during a term break or on any other day when the school is completely closed for instruction, this could also only happen in line with the callback provisions in your Collective Agreement. Exceptions to this general rule may apply in situations i.e. where you receive additional remuneration for responsibilities (i.e. coaching a sports team) that require you to be at school or elsewhere for additional hours AND you have agreed that the units (or similar) that you receive for these extra responsibilities compensate you for working the additional hours.
Clause 5.6 of the Secondary Teachers' Collective Agreement (STCA) (and 4.7 of the Area School Teachers' Collective Agreement (ASTCA)) allows schools to call back teachers for up to-
a. five days (or equivalent) per school year for professional development, and
b, five days (or equivalent) per school year for school administration/preparation and coordination, departmental or related activities, community, parent and whānau liaison.
The school year runs from 28 Jan-27 Jan the following year. Any callback days taken prior to 28 Jan count against the entitlement of the preceding school year. The two sets of five callback days are not a combined entitlement. That means your employer cannot simply decide to use fewer professional development days in order to impose more administrative days. Schools cannot bank callback days. So, if your school did not use the full entitlement of 10 callback days last year, they can still only use 10 days this year.
Although attending callback days that comply with the requirements of your Collective Agreement is compulsory, your employer must take a collaborative approach in relation to their use:
-
As far as practicable teachers concerned will not be unduly inconvenienced, nor have their holiday and travel plans disrupted.
-
You should be given reasonable notice that a callback day is happening.
-
A blanket requirement for professional development, without prior consideration to individual circumstances, is insufficient. For example, if you have just completed the PLD course in your own time that your employer is now wanting you to attend.
-
Callback days should not be unreasonable, take account of teachers' individual needs and take into account teachers' own initiatives.
-
Advance planning and collaboration and pre-approval processes can help avoid issues in these areas.
-
You cannot be required to attend a callback day during a closedown period or when you are otherwise on annual leave in line with the Collective Agreement.
Arranging matters in a reasonable way and taking account of a teacher’s individual needs also means that an employer must consider the particular needs of part-time teachers. We would expect that a teacher who only works part-time in a school should only be required to attend a prorated number of callback days. Similarly, a part-time teacher may be employed in part-time positions at multiple schools and could therefore be asked by both employers to attend a callback day at the same time. The requirement for employers to take a teacher's individual circumstances into account exists for that reason. Issues related to part-time teachers’ attendance at callback days should be worked out through good faith discussions between employer and employee.
Actual and reasonable expenses that teachers incur in attending callback days (i.e. childcare, travel etc.) must be reimbursed by the employer if the callback day falls OUTSIDE of 8.30 am- 4.30 pm Monday to Friday during term time. (Special rules apply for schools that routinely open on a Saturday/Sunday as part of their usual timetable.)
What is “reasonable” will depend on the individual circumstances. It is good practice for the employer to seek information before requiring attendance on the likely costs, and to agree those costs beforehand. For accounting purposes, the employer may request receipts. Where receipts are available these should be provided to the employer. Where receipts are not available, a written statement of the cost and the reason for incurring it can be provided.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The following only applies to secondary school teachers employed at Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu. If you are employed at a different school, the advice in Paragraph VII does NOT apply to you.
Teachers who are employed at Te Kura have different callback provisions than other secondary school teachers. These special rules are contained in Part 11 of the STCA:
-
The callback day provisions for teachers at Te Kura only apply during the term breaks.
-
There are only 5 callback days in total for teachers at Te Kura that can be used for either PLD or school administration, preparation and coordination, departmental or related activities, community, parent and whānau contact.
-
Te Kura is obligated to provide teachers with reasonable notice of a callback day.
-
Te Kura is obligated, wherever possible, to take the individual needs of the teacher and the teacher’s own initiatives into account where the teacher can demonstrate that these initiatives relate to the purpose of the callback day.
It is critical to seek advice from your PPTA Field Officer before considering whether to refuse to attend a callback day. Where your employer is not complying with the terms of your Collective Agreement in calling you back, refusing to attend may be possible. However, if you refuse to attend a callback day and your employer has complied with the terms of your Collective Agreement in requiring you attend, this could have serious consequences. So, seeking advice before you make a decision is critical.
Last modified on Monday, 9 February 2026 10:31