Area School Teachers' Collective Agreement (ASTCA)

1. General

1.1 Salary on appointment depends on qualifications and credit for previous service as set out in clauses 5 to 8 below.

Note: The Ministry of Education | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga verifies the level(s) of qualification(s) for salary purposes using information from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority and the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand.

1.2 Service credits for salary purposes may be made up of teaching service in a New Zealand state or state integrated school (as outlined in clause 4.1 below), other teaching service (as outlined in clauses 5.1-5.4 below), relevant work experience other than teaching (as outlined in clause 6.1 below) and/or childcare (as outlined in clause 7.1 below).

1.3 Credit for each period of other teaching service, relevant work experience other than teaching, and childcare shall be calculated and credited only once, on appointment or reappointment to a teaching position in a New Zealand state or state integrated school.

1.4 For salary credit purposes the following definitions will apply:

• Full credit means that each year of equivalent service (or part thereof) will count as one year (or part thereof) of teaching service.

• Half credit means that each year of equivalent service (or part thereof) will count as six months (or part thereof) of teaching service.

• One third credit means that each year of equivalent service (or part thereof) will count as four months (or part thereof) of teaching service.

2. First appointment

2.1 When a teacher is appointed to their first teaching position in a state or state integrated school the qualification group determines the entry point on the base salary scale. Service credits are added to that entry point to determine a teacher’s salary on appointment.

3. Reappointment after a break in service

3.1 When a teacher returns to a teaching position in a New Zealand state or state integrated school after a break their re-entry point on the base salary scale shall be the equivalent of the step held on the date of cessation.

3.2 Where the qualification group of a returning teacher is higher than the one previously held and the entry step for the new qualification group is higher than the step the teacher had progressed to at the date of cessation, the higher step shall be the teacher’s entry point on the base salary scale.

3.3 Service credit, for service that has not already been credited, shall be added to that entry point to determine a teacher’s salary on appointment.

4. Teaching service in a state or state integrated school

4.1 Unless otherwise stated, teaching service shall be the aggregate of service paid as a teacher in any New Zealand state or state integrated school, or as a qualified teacher employed within the Ministry of Education | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga, the New Zealand Qualification Authority or the Education Review Office in a role to which their teaching service is relevant as follows:

(a) the aggregate of teaching service that is:

(i) full-time service – where permanent and/or non-permanent full-time and/or non-permanent part-time for 20 hours or more per week shall be counted as full- time

(ii) non-permanent part-time teaching service of less than 20 hours per week, where 80 hours equals one month of full-time service or 1000 hours equals one year of full- time service

(iii) all paid holidays, paid leave, periods of sick leave (with or without pay) and any period without pay during a holiday arising from periods of sick leave without pay

iv) special leave without pay, not exceeding an aggregate of three months in any school year. Where a teacher completes verified recognised employment during special leave without pay, the teacher can receive salary credit for either the employment or the aggregate of leave without pay, but not both.

Note: Where special leave without pay of more than three months is taken, and the teacher is not employed during that time in a position on which salary credit is allowable, any period of the leave in excess of three months will not count as service towards the teacher’s next incremental date.

5. Other teaching service

5.1 Other teaching service for salary purposes shall include an aggregate of all teaching service in the employment of:

(a) a university
(b) a registered initial teacher education provider
(c) a polytechnic
(d) a New Zealand registered private school
(e) a free kindergarten association and/or registered teacher-led early childhood centre; and/or
(f) an overseas school provided it was a state school or a school subject to state inspection subject to clause 5.3 below.

5.2 Full credit shall be granted where the service in clause 5.1(a) to (f) above was as a registered teacher or was a teacher who held the equivalent of a recognised New Zealand teaching qualification, otherwise where the service in clause 2.1(a) to (f) above was not as a registered teacher or evidence of registration cannot be provided, half credit shall apply.

5.3 Overseas teachers who gain registration through either the Teaching Council’s comparable qualifications or core components pathways will be deemed to have met the requirements for registration from the date they completed that/those qualification(s). For the purposes of Appendix 7 clause 5.1, overseas teaching service will count from the date the NZQA deems those qualification(s) to have been completed. Relevant work experience (including overseas teaching service completed prior to that date) will be determined under Appendix 7 clause 6.1.

5.4 Overseas teachers who gain registration through the Teaching Council’s discretionary pathway will be deemed to have met the registration requirements from the date registration is granted in New Zealand. Overseas teaching service completed after the date registration is granted in New Zealand will be determined under Appendix 7 clause 5.1 and relevant work experience (including overseas teaching experience completed prior to the date registration is granted in New Zealand) will be determined under Appendix 7 clause 6.1.

6. Relevant work experience other than teaching

6.1 Work experience other than teaching, attested by the employer as being directly relevant to a teacher’s curriculum and/or pastoral duties, shall receive the following service credit for salary purposes:

(a) half credit for relevant work experience completed after the completion of a recognised  and appropriate vocational qualification that is at least Level 5 on the National Qualifications Framework.

(b) one third credit for relevant work experience completed after the completion of a recognised and appropriate vocational qualification that is at least Level 4 on the National Qualifications Framework.

(c) one third credit to a maximum of two salary steps for relevant work experience where no vocational qualification at Level 4 or higher on the National Qualifications Framework was completed prior to that work.

(d) half credit up to a maximum of two steps additional service credit on the salary scale, shall be given for relevant paid work experience as a Kaiarahi i te Reo, Kaiawhina, Teacher Aide, Special Education Assistant or Assistant to Teachers of Students with Severe Disabilities.

(e) Trade work experience used to establish the teacher's salary qualification group (6,000 hours) will not also be recognised as relevant work for the purposes of determining salary on appointment. Relevant trade work experience in excess of 6,000 hours will be recognised as relevant work for the purposes of determining salary on appointment.

Note: Where a teacher has service credits under both (c) and (d) above, the service under (d) shall be credited first, and any additional service under (c) will then be credited.

7. Childcare

7.1 One third credit shall be given where a teacher resigns or takes leave from the New Zealand teaching service in order to care for her/his own children provided that the teacher was a registered teacher (or equivalent) at the time of resigning or taking leave, otherwise no credit will be given.

Note: The one third credit shall apply to the total time away from teaching, excluding any periods for which salary credit is given under clauses 5, 6 or 7 above.

Affect of Improved Qualifications

8. Improved qualifications for teachers in an ongoing appointment

8.1 Teachers in current positions may request assessment of improved or additional qualification(s).

8.2 Trained teachers who improve their qualification(s):

(a) shall, on the effective date of improving the qualification(s), receive at least the minimum commencing step for the new qualification(s).

(b) who have been held at the maximum point of the salary scale for their qualification group for one or more years of service for salary purposes are entitled to progress one salary step towards the maximum step of their new qualification group from the effective date of improving their qualification(s).  This date shall become their new anniversary date for salary progression purposes.

8.3 The effective date for the improvement of qualification(s) to a higher group is the date of official notification.

9. Vocational/trade qualifications for group H3+ (see clause 3.1.3 for eligibility)

• NZ Certificate in Building, Engineering, Quantity Surveying or Draughting
• Advanced Technical Trade Certificate
• Advanced Trade Certificate