Payroll update 29 September 2026
Kia ora koutou
In this update we’re sharing a message from the Ministry:
The Ministry of Education is making remediation payments to long-term relief teachers who did not receive the correct contractual holiday pay, starting from 13 October.
About the payments
Some long-term relief (fixed-term) teachers did not receive full holiday pay when their employment spanned term breaks. The error happened when a period of employment spanned a term break but the employee had not accumulated enough service to be entitled to holiday pay for the full break.
The error was corrected from 2023 onwards. The Ministry is now making payments to correct errors made between 28 January 2015 and 27 January 2023.
Affected current employees (approximately 11,500) will be split into groups for processing first. Payments will be made each pay period between October 2026 and June 2027 as individual corrections are made to pay, service and leave history in the payroll system.
Affected employees will be paid in the next pay period after their corrections are made. Leave balances and service records will also be updated where needed.
Payments to affected former employees (approximately 5,500) will be made after current employee payments are complete.
Impact on schools
We don’t need current employees, principals or administrators to do anything to support this work or the payment.
This payment is fully funded by the Ministry. There will be no impact on your school budget and the payment will not appear on your Staff Usage and Expenditure (SUE) report or other school documentation.
Queries
The Ministry has a dedicated query management team in place to respond to questions about the payment. School staff can contact the team directly by:
- calling 0800 439 333 (8.30am – 5pm, Monday – Friday).
There is information about these payments on the Ministry’s Education Workforce website.
Ngā mihi
Education Payroll