Senior teacher: An update for teachers employed before 2016
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 128 No 7, 29 September 2023, page no. 21
Earlier this year, the QTU alerted members to a potential issue for teachers engaged before 2016 and not yet at senior teacher (ST).
Following member enquiries through our assist desk QTAD, the QTU started conversations with the department regarding teachers engaged before 2016 whose progression to ST appeared to have been delayed by 12 months by the 2016 classification restructure.
The QTU asked the department to explain why this group of employees did not meet the ST service requirement, despite having completed eight years’ service (there are typically eight years of teaching between appointment and ST eligibility, subject to continuous employment, i.e. no breaks in service, no significant periods of unpaid leave). While they do not state that eight years of service are required for ST eligibility, the 2016 and 2022 certified agreements imply that this is the case, as captured in Table 1 below.
As per the 2016 certified agreement, all teachers on C0201 and C0202 as of 30 June 2016 moved to B0201. The problem for some teachers, such as in the example in Table 2, is that the Award requirement to complete 12 months at B0304 before accessing ST meant that they could not do so until they had completed nine years of teaching.
The department, through consultation with the QTU, agreed that it was not reasonable to advantage new employees in their progression to ST over those who had been employed before 2016. For example, a teacher starting in January 2024 who remains in continuous employment with no significant breaks in service could expect to reach eligibility for ST after eight years. In 2031 they would be at B0304, and they would be eligible for ST from 2032. A teacher appointed before 2016 was disadvantaged because it would take them an additional year to get to that point.
The QTU has continued to work with the department on identifying which teachers could have been impacted. As a result, the department is now ready to directly communicate with a specific cohort of employees. The advice from the department identifies exactly which group of members may be due an earlier ST date and outlines its plan for direct communication with that group.
The QTU can advise that a permanent teacher may be due an earlier ST date if they:
- were on Band 2 Step 1 or Band 2 Step 2 as at 30 June 2016
- are still employed as a permanent teacher; and
- have had no extended periods of leave without pay.
The department’s communication plan for that group of employees is as follows.
28 August: Payroll commence calculations on ST eligibility date.
1 September: Email from the department to potentially impacted employees, informing them that their ST eligibility date is being reviewed and they may be due an earlier ST date. Employees will be informed that they will receive an email from the department stating the outcome by 29 September.
29 September: Email to same group of potentially impacted employees, informing them of the result of their ST eligibility date review. This will advise those teachers with an eligibility date in 2023, or prior, the action to be taken (non-service requirements) and when the teacher progression form is to be submitted by, to allow access to ST from the amended eligibility date.
27 October: Teacher progression forms should be submitted.
19 November: Fortnight payment for reclassification to ST from eligibility date (if due prior to 19 November).
QTU Rep Amanda Stevenson, a teacher who started in 2015 and was one of the first to question her ST eligibility date, said: "I am so glad I contacted the QTU. The action we took together has made a huge difference to me and my colleagues."