Units

All members are entitled annually to participate in consultation about the use of units in their school. Secondary schools should be consulting this year on the use of existing units and on the new units they will receive from the 2019 STCA settlement.

• All units  have the same value and are paid in addition to your base scale salary each fortnight.
  Note: Board funded payments are sometimes called units, but they are not units and they may or may not be paid at the rate of a unit.
• Units are paid at $4,000 p.a. until 27th January 2020 and from the 28th January 2020 at the rate of $5,000 p.a.
• Units are allocated and paid as whole units for full time and part time teachers (i.e. the full fortnightly payment for the unit is made at the full unit rate.
• Payments for units can only be split in a job share position because the whole salary associated with the position is shared.  Job share teachers may have additional whole units for other purposes. (STCA 4.3.3, ASTCA 3.4.2).
• At least 60% of units must be given permanently.
• Some units could be allocated for long term, ongoing tasks and might be issued for the same type of functions performed by those in permanent management roles.  Units for deans may fall into this category.
• Some units may for short term tasks or short-term roles, and so would tend to be fixed term
• Principals cannot be allocated units.
• Other teachers are able to receive both permanent and fixed term units in any number and combination. 
• Units for ongoing roles/ functions should be permanent unless there is a genuine reason for it to be fixed term under the Employment Relations Act.
• PPTA’s policy is that units should be allocated objectively - in relation to specific tasks or roles within the school.
• Each of the first three permanents units you hold adds an extra hour non-contact to your non-contact entitlement.
• The fourth and subsequent units do not automatically add additional non-contact hours but the employer is obliged to endeavour to provide additional time.
• Each year your schools gets a number of units based on its the staffing entitlement and special education staffing.
• The number of units available to secondary schools from 2020 will increase by 1000. The total number of units per school will be:
• Secondary schools    9.0 + (Staffing entitlement + special education staffing –1)*1.241
• Area schools    2.6 + (Staffing entitlement + special education staffing –1)*1.33, rounded up to the nearest whole number.
• The collective agreements (STCA clause 4.3.1, ASTCA 3.4.1) require that members are consulted annually about how units are allocated.  The most effective way for such consultation to occur is through the branch and your branch chair has advice on how to conduct these consultations.

Note: More substantial advice on units is available on request. Contact enquiries@ppta.org.nz