The Fair Work Commission has recently announced sweeping changes to the Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2020 commencing on 1 January 2022.
The reason for the changes is it was determined that teachers covered by the award are subject to “gender undervaluation”. In other words, it was found that a large number of the teachers covered by the award are female, and they do not receive equal remuneration for work of comparable value to work performed by teachers employed in other parts of the education industry where more males are employed. The changes seek to redress this imbalance.
New Classification Structure
One of the main changes is to introduce a new classification structure for all teachers covered by the award as follows:
| Classification Level | Criteria |
| Level 1 |
Graduate teacher and all other teachers including those holding provisional or conditional accreditation/registration |
| Level 2 | Teacher with proficient accreditation/registration or equivalent. |
| Level 3 | Teacher with proficient accreditation/registration or equivalent after three years’ satisfactory teaching service at a proficient level. |
| Level 4 | Teacher with proficient accreditation/registration or equivalent after six years’ satisfactory teaching service at a proficient level. |
| Level 5 | Teacher with Highly Accomplished / Lead Teacher accreditation/registration or equivalent. |
There will also be new rules about how teachers progress through the various classification levels.
Changes to Pay Rates
Pay rates will also change as follows for permanent employees from the first pay period on or after 1 January 2022:
| Classification | Criteria | Weekly salary – preschools and schools $ |
Annual salary – preschools and schools $ |
Weekly salary – long day care centres $ |
Annual salary – long day care centres $ |
| Level 1 | Graduate teacher with provisional or conditional accreditation where applicable | 1,141.20 | 59,545 | 1,186.80 | 61,927 |
| Level 2 | Teacher with proficient accreditation or equivalent | 1,247.30 | 65,085 | 1,297.20 | 67,688 |
| Level 3 | Teacher with proficient accreditation after three years’ satisfactory service at Level 2 | 1,357.90 | 70,854 | 1,412.20 | 73,688 |
| Level 4 | Teacher with proficient accreditation after three years’ satisfactory service at Level 3 | 1,468.40 | 76,623 | 1,527.20 | 79,688 |
| Level 5 | Teacher with Highly Accomplished/Lead Teacher accreditation | 1,579.00 | 82,392 | 1,642.20 | 85,688 |
Applicable hourly rates are calculated by dividing the weekly rate by 38.
Casual employees will be entitled to corresponding increases in rates.
Members of staff designated as an Educational Leader will also be entitled to an annual Educational Leader Allowance of $3,845.14 (pro-rata for part-time employees). They will also be entitled to 2 hours of non-contact time per week.
Transitioning to the new Arrangements
There are provisions in the award that deal with transitioning existing members of staff to the new classification structure. These only apply to the teachers employed prior to 1 January 2022 who:
(a) do not as at 1 January 2022 hold proficient teacher accreditation/registration and are not as at 1 January 2022 subject to a requirement to hold proficient teacher accreditation/registration; or
(b) hold proficient teacher accreditation/registration.
Such employees will transition as follows:
|
Classification prior to 1 January 2022 |
Classification on and from 1 January 2022 |
|
Level 5 |
Level 2 |
|
Level 6 |
Level 2 |
|
Level 7 |
Level 2 |
|
Level 8 |
Level 3 |
|
Level 9 |
Level 3 |
|
Level 10 |
Level 3 |
|
Level 11 |
Level 4 |
|
Level 12 |
Level 4 |
Need more help?
We are currently preparing further resources to guide clients through these changes and will share these shortly. If you would like to receive our guidance or have any questions, please contact the Employment Innovations team on 1300 144 120.
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Disclaimer
The information provided in these blog articles is general in nature and is not intended to substitute for professional advice. If you are unsure about how this information applies to your specific situation we recommend you contact Employment Innovations for advice.