Teacher workload wins
The approved Agreement contains significant improvements to address teacher workload. We’ve put together this explainer video which covers the most significant elements about workload in the Agreement and have further information for you to read below about this.
The approved Agreement contains significant measures to address teacher workload, including:
Scheduled Class Time reductions of 1 hour in 2023 and a further half-hour in 2024 - the biggest reductions to SCT in decades.
Limits to before- and after-school meetings of two hours per week, and one hour per day.
Inclusion of extras in Scheduled Class Time (secondary schools)
Regulation of teacher working hours through the ‘30 plus 8 model’, providing teachers with more control over their time.
Time in lieu for any employer-directed work outside the 38 hour week
Stronger consultative provisions, and better-trained, better-empowered Consultative Committees
Commitments to better manage workloads, deal more efficiently administrative burdens and limit spread-of-hours for part-time staff
Here’s a quick look at five key areas of improvement:
1. Reduced face-to-face teaching limits
This Agreement brings in historic reductions to face-to-face teaching limits – they will be reduced by 60 minutes per week in 2023 and a further 30 minutes in 2024. The Agreement also removes the 14 hours of extras for secondary teachers – so from 2023 they can only be given additional classes if they are under-allotted.
For full-time primary teachers, this means that face-to-face teaching limits reduce from the current 22.5 hours per week to 21.5 in 2023, then 21 in 2024.
For full-time secondary teachers, limits reduce from the current 20 hours (plus extras) to 19 in 2023 (including extras) and 18.5 in 2024.
2. The ‘30 + 8 Model’
This Agreement introduces a completely new approach to regulating the ‘working week’ of teachers - we call this the ‘30 + 8 Model’.
This model brings clearer regulation of the working day. Normal ‘attendance time’ for a full-time teacher will be 7 hours per day, commencing no less than 10 minutes before students start. So, for example, in a school where students are expected in class at 8.50am, a teacher’s normal attendance time is 8.40am – 3.40pm.
There will be 3 additional employer-directed hours which can take place directly before or after normal attendance time (though no more than 1 hour on any given day).
Next, the model divides the 38-hour week up into:
30 hours for
o Scheduled face-to-face teaching
o Associated work at the teachers’ discretion, free from mandated tasks, duties or meetings.
8 hours, consisting of
o 2.5 hours of lunch breaks
o 2.5 hours for employer-directed tasks, including yard duty, requirements to be in a room before class, lunchtime eating supervision, and directed meetings during normal attendance time
o Maximum of 3 hours of directed duties outside of attendance time. This includes a maximum of 2 x 1-hour meetings unless otherwise agreed at the Consultative Committee
3. Time in lieu (TIL)
Along with a more regulated working week comes the introduction of ‘time in lieu’ (TIL) for teachers. Teachers accrue TIL for any required attendance at activities (including camps, parent-teacher interviews, excursions and sport) which occur outside of the 38 hour week.
For every hour of attendance (or for every 2 hours when ‘off-duty’ such as overnight on camps), a teacher is entitled to an hour off work. This time off can be provided anytime in the year in which it is accrued, but employers should aim to provide this time off within a fortnight of it accruing.
If the employer and the employee agree, it can instead be granted as additional payment at the teacher’s normal hourly rate.
4. Workload Commitments
The IEU recognises that administrative burden is one of the biggest contributors to staff workloads. We know that these include increased requirements to collect and interpret data and evidence to inform teaching practice (such as through the NCCD), more complex and labour-intensive assessment and reporting requirements, compliance requirements and training and ongoing curriculum change.
The IEU and DOSCEL have committed to working to manage employee workload through the following enforceable commitments:
planning across the school year to reduce workload during peak periods
scheduling and conducting meetings in the most productive manner
considering the impact of change on workload and to consult with affected Employees
supporting employees, through the provision of time, to meet workload demands
eliminating unnecessary duplication and inefficiencies
reviewing assessment, reporting and student data collection processes for their alignment, timing and efficiency
ensuring that employees are not required to access or respond to work related emails or other messaging outside the ordinary hours of work
being proactive in implementing best practice around the workload management of all staff.
These commitments enshrine workload administrative matters within the Agreement and enable the Consultative Committee to deal with a much broader range of matters affecting your workload.
5. Better Consultation
Effective workplace consultation is essential in managing workload at a local school level. This Agreement gives the Consultative Committee stronger powers to deal with workload:
Where the Consultative Committee is unable to reach agreement on a recommendation, the principal must provide written reasons for any decision made.
Where the union at the school does not support a decision made by the principal, this decision can be reviewed, first through IEU and DOSCEL representatives, and if necessary through referral to Fair Work Australia for resolution
Consultative Committees can now more effectively deal with non-teacher workload issues
There will be paid training leave for staff reps on the Consultative Committee
These powers ensure that the Consultative Committee is empowered to make meaningful decisions regarding the workloads of all members of staff.