For information about managing the leave of a teacher or principal on Study Award or Sabbatical please refer to the most up-to-date FAQs below.
Alternatively you can download a pdf copy correct as of October 2011.
If you’re from a school with a teacher or principal on Study Award or Sabbatical in 2012 and the school hasn’t received a coding notice please contact us for a copy.
If you have any questions please call Teacher Study Awards on 0800 165 225, option 3 or email teacher.studyawards@minedu.govt.nz.
How do I ensure costs are charged to TeachNZ?
What do the funding code and the department code refer to?
The start and end dates on the coding notice are incorrect. What should I do?
What relief costs will TeachNZ fund?
Do school weeks include term breaks?
Can more than one teacher be paid HDA for acting in the position of the teacher on leave?
Where can I find more information on HDA conditions?
How do I ensure costs are charged to TeachNZ?
When filling out the payroll forms you must include the funding code and the department code from page 1 of the coding notice specific to the teacher or principal on leave. A copy of the coding notice must be provided to your pay centre when you submit the relevant forms.
What do the funding code and the department code refer to?
The funding code is either 11320 (for a Study Award recipient) or 11340 (for a Sabbatical Leave recipient). The five digit department code is specific to the award recipient’s leave and is based on the award type and the year of the leave.
The start and end dates on the coding notice are incorrect. What should I do?
The start and end dates were provided by the teacher or principal taking leave but are subject to change. Leave dates are agreed between the award recipient and the school. Please email teacher.studyawards@minedu.govt.nz with the correct dates and TeachNZ will send you an updated coding notice.
I sent through the payroll forms to have the relief teacher’s salary charged to TeachNZ, however I can see on my SUE report that the charge is still coming from the Teacher Salaries funding code. How can I fix this?
You need to fill out a Funding/Department Code Change Form ESP21 and contact your pay centre to get the salary of the reliever charged to the funding code and department code on the coding notice specific to the teacher on leave. Please do this as soon as you notice the error. If the adjustment goes back further than the two most recent pay periods you will also need to ask the ministry to action an adjustment. Use the Request for Banking Staffing Adjustment form on the www.schoolpayroll.govt.nz website.
What relief costs will TeachNZ fund?
TeachNZ funds relief costs for the maximum school weeks of leave awarded to the recipient. For example, if a teacher has been granted 32 school weeks‘ leave, TeachNZ will fund relief costs for 32 school weeks, plus any holiday pay accrued (calculated by your pay centre). Relief costs may include multiple Higher Duties Allowances (HDA) as well as the salary of a relieving teacher depending on the way the school has structured relief costs.
Do school weeks include term breaks?
No. School weeks are defined as term weeks.
We have a part-time teacher (0.8FTTE) who has been awarded 24 school weeks leave. How does this work for the school?
TeachNZ will fund relief costs for 0.8FTTE for 24 school weeks (96 school days). In line with the teacher’s employment agreement the time is pro rata.
TeachNZ has awarded our teacher 32 school weeks’ leave but we have employed a relieving teacher for the full school year. How does this work with payroll?
TeachNZ will only fund relief costs for 32 school weeks, plus any holiday pay the reliever is entitled to. Once TeachNZ has funded relief costs for 32 school weeks you will need to fill out the Funding/Department Code Change Form ESP21 and have the salary charge moved back to the Teacher Salaries or Bulk Grant funding code.
The school employed a reliever for a teacher who was on study leave last year, and will continue to be employed this year to cover another teacher who has been awarded study leave. Do we need to fill in any extra forms for payroll?
Yes. You need to fill out a Funding/Department Code Change Form ESP21 to get the salary of the reliever charged to the funding code and department code on the coding notice specific to the teacher on leave. Relievers must be charged to the correct and unique codes for the teacher’s position they are covering.
There is more than one teacher acting up at our school as a result of the teacher or principal going on leave. Can we charge the Higher Duties Allowance (HDA) for all these teachers to TeachNZ?
Yes. The school can charge HDA for all teachers who are taking on additional responsibilities as a result of the award recipient taking leave. For example, if the Principal goes on leave and the Deputy Principal acts as Principal, a Head of Department acts as Deputy Principal and a teacher acts as Head of Department, the school can charge HDA for all three teachers acting up – provided they meet the conditions in the relevant collective agreement.
Can more than one teacher be paid HDA for acting in the position of the teacher on leave?
Yes. For example, if the Deputy Principal who holds six units was on leave, two Assistant Principals acting up could be paid HDA to the equivalent dollar value of up to three units each, as long as the cost is no more than the Deputy Principal’s position in total. Please refer to the conditions in the relevant collective agreement.
Our principal is going on leave. Can we have two teachers act up to share the role of acting principal?
No. Only one person can act as principal at any one time. However the role could be split between two teachers if, for example, one teacher acted up for term 2 and another teacher acted up for term 3. Please see clause 3.16 of the PTCA, 3.11 of the ASTCA or 4.15 of the STCA for the conditions around the allowance for acting as principal.
The teacher going on leave received fixed term units last year. Do they continue to receive the fixed term units while on leave this year?
Whether fixed term units are paid to the teacher on leave is at the discretion of the principal and board of trustees. If the school decides to allocate them to the teacher on leave they can pay the reliever teacher the equivalent dollar value as a Higher Duties Allowance (HDA), charged to TeachNZ. This is the same process as for permanent units. Please be aware of the HDA conditions such as the maximum equivalent units which can be paid as part of this allowance.
Where can I find more information on HDA conditions?
Primary Teachers’ Collective Agreement (PTCA) – clause 3.15 & 3.16
Area School Teachers’ Collective Agreement (ASTCA) – clause 3.11 & 3.12
Secondary Teachers’ Collective Agreement (STCA) – clause 4.15 & 4.16
The teacher awarded leave is currently receiving the Māori Immersion Teacher Allowance (MITA). Do they continue to receive this while on leave and will TeachNZ fund the MITA for the reliever?
The teacher on leave continues to receive the MITA as part of their normal salary payments. If the relieving teacher is eligible for MITA you should submit the usual application form to the ministry. If approved, the allowance will be charged to the same funding code as the teacher’s base salary.
The teacher who has been awarded leave is currently receiving the Specialist Classroom Teacher (SCT) allowance. Do they continue to receive this while on leave and will TeachNZ fund the allowance for the reliever?
The teacher on leave continues to receive the SCT allowance. If the reliever teacher is eligible for the SCT allowance they can be paid the equivalent dollar value as HDA, charged to TeachNZ.
The teacher awarded leave currently receives a Middle Management Allowance (MMA). Do they continue to receive this while on leave and will TeachNZ fund the allowance for the reliever?
The teacher on leave continues to receive the MMA. If the reliever teacher is eligible for the MMA they can be paid the equivalent dollar value as HDA, charged to TeachNZ. You will need to fill out the Higher Duties Allowance Form ESP28t to have the higher duties allowance paid.