Summary of proposed changes

Transcription

1 Summary of proposed changes VICTORIAN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS AND CATHOLIC EDUCATION OFFICES MULTI EMPLOYER AGREEMENT 2013 Salary and Related Matters Payment of Salary Increases - Back pay salary increases to 1 April Begin to pay at new rates on completion of the voting process in schools - Calculate and make back payments as soon as practicable Bonus payment Wages generally Teachers - All staff will receive bonus payments - $1000 for full-time staff and pro rata for part-timers - All staff employed on the last day of voting week (likely to be Friday 1 November) will be eligible for the bonus - Staff employed but on leave will be paid on their return to work provided the return is before the nominal expiry of the agreement - Wages and further increases over the life of the agreement are quite complex and different across every level of every classification of employee - Increases are backdated to April with a further increase in August and increases thereafter in February and August 2014 and Certain rates in some classifications are also adjusted in May of each year with increments following changes to classification structures - Same wage increases for teachers in government schools - Net benefits range from 12.97% to 16.88% - Renamed levels consistent with government sector: the five levels G1 to A3 will be called T1-1 to T1-5 and the six levels from A4 to E4 will be called T2-1 to T2-6 - The current teacher standards will be replaced by a reference to AITSL/VIT Standards for Professional Practice School Officers - Salary increases with various net benefits ranging from 12.11% to 15.97% - A new 5 level classification structure for education support staff is introduced and all staff in the current 7 level structure have been translated into the first four levels of the new ES structure - Current SO Level 5 and 6s will translate into Level 3 of the new structure - Level 5 SOs move until they hit a soft barrier through which they can progress subject to agreed criteria. Existing Level 6s are not affected by this barrier. - Education Support Staff can be reclassified to the new level 5 from February Schools Services Officers - Salary increases with net benefits ranging from 13% to 14.83% - A new 4 level structure to replace the existing 5 levels which eliminates overlap between the levels and more accurately describes the roles within each level - Better access to reclassification and higher rates - SSOs with managerial or coordinating roles will be able to access appropriate levels in the new Education Support classification structure

2 Primary Principals - Salary increases with net benefits from 13.46% to 18.86% - Collapse of the two bottom levels into one level raising the rate for principals in smaller schools making the lowest starting salary for a Principal in a small school $113,945 at the end of the agreement more than a 20% increase in the rate - Removal of overlap between levels - The number of incremental steps in several levels has been reduced and the incremental steps smoothed. - Confirmed enrolment at the time of advertising to be used for initial classification purposes but substantive reclassification when enrolments have been maintained in the higher band for three years. - Salary maintenance and salary compensation for non-reappointment has been retained with modified arrangements regarding evidence and intention Deputy Principals (Category A - single DP in secondary, Category B more than one DP in Secondary and Primary schools) - Category A: Net benefits from 12.42% to 16.15% - Category B: Net benefits from 13.84% to 14.84% - Some reconfiguration of the scales ie number of steps at level and some smoothing of increments Emergency Teachers POLs CEO staff - Parity of rates with government schools (had been lower) and increased accordingly through the agreement - Super paid on each day worked - Minimum engagement increased from 2 hours to 3 hours - Increased allowances in line with movement in the rate for LT3 in government schools with a total net benefit of 13.5% - POL pool to be adjusted in line with increases Clerical staff: - Salary increases with net benefits ranging from 11.84% to 14.62% - A new 5 level structure, with new classification descriptions to replace the old 8 level structure for CEO clerical and administrative staff. - The parties have also agreed to further review this structure with a view to creating a higher level for more specialist roles Speech pathologists: - A new 3 level structure down from the current 4 levels with increases from 12.6% to 14.34% - The new structure removes restrictive impediments to movement between levels at the lower levels Psychologists: - A new 3 level structure which introduces a 1 year only provisional level for psychologists who require supervision. Previously these staff weren t covered by the classification structure. Increases in line with E4 Teacher increases. Education Officers: - Retained current structure with net benefit increases from 13.14% to 15.63% - EO rates move in line with movement in E3, E4 and POLs School Advisers: - Same benefits as for teachers with allowances increased as for POLs Salary Assessment for new employees - New employees with service outside Catholic education in Victoria will be required to provide evidence of any service within 6 months of commencing - If evidence of service elsewhere is provided after this time then any salary adjustment arising from the evidence will only be back dated for 6 months from the date of production of the evidence - The employer must advise the employee of these requirements upon engagement and in the new induction requirements.

3 Service for Increments - The common incremental date of 1 May is retained and the service required to increment has moved from 4 months in the preceding incremental cycle to 6 months. This change is consistent with bargaining outcomes in the government sector Incremental Progression Pro Rata School Holiday calculation Tool Allowance Meal allowance SSO on call allowance Medical Support - There are no changes to the way teachers move through the incremental scale save that an increment can now be deferred at the employer s discretion if the employee is on an Employee Improvement Plan. Incremental advancement will be restored and back paid at the conclusion of the EIP except if the employee is terminated - The current formula, which is still based on the old 42 week school year, does not provide employees who only work part of a school year with exact proportionate payment for non-term weeks. A new formula taken from the modern award will make these payments fairer and a more accurate ratio of term weeks worked to non-term weeks. - $18 per week for a non-carpenter or joiner - $33 per week for trade qualified staff - Rates are up from $13 - Increased from $15 to $20 for the duration of the agreement - One hour at the ordinary hourly rate for weekdays and two hours at the ordinary hourly rate for Saturday and Sunday up from fixed dollar amounts regardless of your pay rate - Retained the minimum call out at payment for 4 hours - Increased in accordance with movement the intensive care allowance in the government sector - 9% over agreement Leave Parental Leave Long Service Leave - Major redraft of the clause which should make it much more user friendly - Convert the current 14 week parental leave payment to 14 weeks of paid leave which count as service - 5 days partner leave not taken from personal leave - Paid leave to commence when the employee commences leave rather than a bonus on the birth of the child - Clearer, fairer arrangements regarding payment, leave and cancellation of leave if things go wrong - Employers can request medical certificate of capacity in the 6 weeks prior to confinement and can require leave to commence at this time - Employee will be required to give 8 weeks notice of a return to work (currently 7) and is encouraged to give 10 weeks - Better arrangements for fixed term employees who might otherwise not have been able to access the full entitlement - Entitlements are retained in the agreement - Removal of cash out provision (no longer permitted in agreements) - Payout of LSL on termination may be deferred for up to four terms but if paid will be backdated to the actual termination date - A two year gap in service will not break continuity of service (notwithstanding any pay out) - LSL will be available at half pay - Particular arrangements for Primary Principals are now to be included in the agreement

4 Personal Leave Community Services Leave Compassionate Leave Trade Union Training Leave - A redrafted clause will make employee entitlements easier to understand and internal inconsistencies have been removed. - The number of days on which evidence of illness can be required will be increased from 5 to 10 in any year but new provisions based on the NES regarding evidence have been adopted. This means that evidence is provided only if the employer requests it and the notice itself can be a certificate of a registered health practitioner or other evidence acceptable to a reasonable person. - Currently there is a requirement to provide a medical certificate every 28 days in the case of long term illness. This can cause problems in schools with replacement staff who could be engaged for longer and more stable periods if the school knew the employee was not going to be fit for work for a period longer than 28 days. In the new agreement the 28 day requirement is removed and evidence relating to longer periods can be provided - Carers leave is currently capped at 20 days per year no matter how much personal leave is available to the employee. This cap is to be removed and there are no limits on personal leave that can be taken as carers leave - The entitlement to personal leave will now be calculated in hours and not days - 3 days paid community services leave will now be available to each employee - An additional day of compassionate leave ( from 2 days to 3) is provided for serious illness or injury of a family member - One day s paid trade union training leave per year for the IEU rep will be restored to the Agreement. It was taken out of the Agreement under the WorkChoices legislation and provided for in an MOU. Other Matters Variation of Part Time Hours - One new improved clause replaces the four different existing clauses for employees regarding making changes to the hours, days and times of a part time employee - Where a proposed reduction in a part timer s hours is significant, or over a two year period cumulatively significant, then a redundancy payment must be offered to the employee who may choose this option rather than have their hours reduced - Employers will now be required to give 8 weeks notice (and encouraged to give 10) of a variation in the number of hours of a part time employee or maintain salary for any period of notice not given. The former notice period was 7 weeks. Part time teachers and parent teacher interviews - Employers will be required to consult part time teachers about arrangements for their participation in parent teacher interviews Fixed Term employment - Extensive and/or inappropriate use of fixed term employment is an problem and the parties are agreed that a process to monitor the use of fixed term employment must be implemented and data provided quarterly to the union - Employees who are not to be offered subsequent contracts must be given 7 weeks notice in term time of payment in lieu thereof - Fixed term employees must be given written notice of vacancies in that schools and guaranteed interviews - All service as a fixed term employee will be counted as service and duration of contracts cannot be set to avoid payment of wages eg payment for holidays.

5 Non-renewal of POL tenure - From 2014 provide 7 term weeks notice of non-renewal of POL tenure or payment in lieu of any notice not given Recall Days for Category B School Officers - Category B Education Support Staff can currently be recalled in the school holidays for up to 6 days with no further payment - Under the new agreement any days on which a Category B School Officer are recalled will require an additional payment to the employee by way of a 72.47% loading on the daily rate - Cat B SOs can still be recalled for up to 6 days but this new payment for the days worked should make schools give more careful consideration to any work that needs to be done and the number of employees actually required to do it Scheduled Class Time Extras in Secondary Schools - SCT in primary schools is reduced from 2015 to 22.5 hours per week and clearer definition that scheduled class time starts from the time students are required to be in attendance at school - Currently no more than one extra per week with a limit of 18 hours per year. This limit will drop to 14 hours per year in 2015 Equitable workloads and consultation for all employees - The clause in the current agreement that provides that no teacher has an unfair, unreasonable or excessive workload will now be extended to all employees - Teachers already have a mechanism for consultation but now employers will be required to establish a mechanism to consult with all their employees Performance and conduct - The clause formerly known as Due Process will be replaced by a clause titled Managing Employment Concerns - While setting revised procedures for employers who have concerns with an employee, it clearly articulates all the principles of natural justice and fairness and ensures employees can be represented by the union at all stages of the process - The former process itself will be retitled Employee Improvement Plan (EIP) - The new procedures now regulate the circumstances in which warnings can be given providing greater clarity and better protection - There can be no disciplinary action without the employer going through the process in this clause. Registration VIT/WWCC/Allied Health - An employee who is required but does not have current registration could be stood down without pay subject to being given a fair and reasonable opportunity to rectify the matter Induction Model Flexibility term - Employers will now be required to provide an induction process which includes providing materials relevant to the ethos and mission of the school, provision and training on school policy and procedure documents and identification of lines of support and contact persons as well as information regarding the evidence required for salary assessment where there has been service outside Catholic education - The model flexibility term required by the Fair Work Act 2009 will be included Commencement & Nominal Expiry Date - The Agreement will commence 7 days after approval by the Fair Work Commission and have a nominal expiry date of 31 October 2016