At the risk of becoming boring, we’re repeating our Start of Year reminders and key dates in this issue. There are also updates about the Timesheet and leave (TAL) defect, PPBCU variations and the salary assessment portal.
Over the term 4 holidays, apart from public holidays, our phone lines will be open for our standard hours: 9.30am–3.30pm (including Wellington Anniversary Day on 20 January).
This table shows the changed processing dates for pay period 21.
Start of Year
The Start of Year screen will be open in EdPay until 21 February 2025. The key dates for actions you need to take are in the table below.
Reminders
Fixed-term teachers who will return to your school in 2025 – change to holiday pay
When a fixed-term teacher is continuing their contract in 2025, their holiday pay will be reversed and repaid as if they were a permanent teacher. The holiday pay reversals will happen from pay period 20 in the pay period they are restarted.
Fixed-term teachers becoming permanent in 2025
For fixed-term teachers who will become permanent teachers from the start of 2025 school year, please don’t restart them using the Start of Year screen. For these teachers, you only need to do a pay details change to restart them as permanent.
For more information, download the Start of Year guide or contact your payroll advisor.
Employees on ACC leave during term 4 holidays
Here are some reminders about what employees and schools need to do if any employees at your school will be on ACC leave during the term 4 holiday.
- If the employee is unfit to return to work throughout the term 4 holidays, they need to provide ACC with a medical certificate that covers the whole holiday period.
- If the employee is receiving weekly compensation from ACC and receiving holiday pay from the schools' payroll in pay period 19/20, they must tell ACC about their holiday pay.
- If the employee is a 52-week employee on ACC leave, the school needs to continue to submit a NOVO12acc leave booking form, see EdPay and forms.
For more information, go to ACC claims (EdPay.govt.nz).
Salary increments – check the Auto Increments screen for support staff before term 4 ends
The auto increments screen shows support staff at your school who are due to receive their work anniversary increment in the next 90 days. It’s important to check it now because many people’s work anniversaries are in pay period 23 and we need to know before the auto increment date if any need to be deferred. If your principal isn’t a regular reader of the payroll update, we recommend you draw their attention to this.
Go to EdPay > My School > Administration > Progression > Auto Increments.
Instructions: Deferring automatic salary increments for support staff.
For details of the work that falls in each grade, please refer to the Support Staff in Schools Collective Agreement 2022–24. See the remuneration section / work matrix table.
Salary increments – check the Attestation School report for teachers’ salary increments
Teachers’ salary increments do not happen automatically. Schools need to:
- check the Attestation School report regularly
- confirm whether salary progressions should go ahead
- manually update the Attestation School report, and
- notify Education Payroll.
You can download the report from EdPay > Reports > Attestation School report. See our Attestation School report page for more information.
11.11% salary loading changes for part-time teachers in secondary and area schools
If you have any questions about the 11.11% salary loading (and removal of the 11AP allowance), please:
Updates
Timesheet and leave (TAL) defect resolved
We have resolved a defect in EdPay where Timesheet and Leave (TAL) administrators couldn’t:
- submit relievers’ timesheets, or
- see the buttons to select if the reliever also had a part-time role.
The fix will be tested in Beta schools from 13 December, then released in EdPay before the start of the new school year.
If your school gave TAL administrators temporary school-wide access to EdPay, please change them back to TAL-access-only. You will need to complete an EP5 form and email it to support@novopay.govt.nz.
Salary assessment portal applications will not be accessible from 20 December – what to do
Recently we emailed applicants and schools to ask them to progress or cancel their salary assessment portal applications before 20 December. Applications left in the portal after that date will be considered closed.
If a teacher in your school is likely to need access to their application after 20 December, please email feedback@edpay.nz to let us know, quoting:
- school name
- applicant name, and
- application number.
We will create an EdPay ticket and contact the teacher about the application by email.
If you have any questions about a teacher’s application, please contact the Salary Assessment Unit. Phone: 0508 6686 729 Option 3.
PPBCU terms and conditions variation
The Ministry of Education and the Primary Principals’ Collective Bargaining Union (PPCBU) agreed in 2023 to vary the terms and conditions of the current Collective Agreement.
The variation includes two increases to the base per annum payment for Leadership in Literacy and Numeracy which will be implemented from pay period 21 on 7 January 2025.
The Cultural Leadership Allowance for eligible principals who lead schools and kura which offer Level 1 or Level 2 te reo Māori or Pacific language immersion programmes will be paid from 1 November 2024.
Details are in Appendix 9 of the Primary Principals’ (PPCBU) Collective Agreement.
This will be our last payroll update for this year. From everyone at Education Payroll, thank you for the work you do to make sure your people are paid the right amount at the right time. We hope you have a well-earned and restful break.
Ngā mihi nui
Education Payroll