Know Your Agreement: Victorian Catholic Education Agreement Highlights - Part 3
This is the third in our series unpacking important CEMEA clauses, including some details you might have missed which could significantly enhance your working life.
UPDATE: Our Agreement has been officially approved by the Fair Work Commission and comes into effect next Monday. Congratulations to every IEU member - this is your win!
Time in Lieu
(Clause 59.3)
For the first time, this Agreement accounts for and acknowledges the many hours of employer-directed work undertaken by teachers in Victorian Catholic schools outside of normal working hours.
This is a huge improvement, which will make a big difference to teacher workloads over the long term.
As part of the new package of provisions to tackle workloads and better regulate their working week, teachers now accrue time in lieu (TIL) for any required attendance at structured activities (including camps, parent-teacher interviews, information nights, graduations, open days, excursions and sport) which occur outside of their normal hours of attendance.
This time in lieu works alongside the new ‘30+8 model’ of a teacher’s working week.
While Education Support Staff and School Support Officers have long been entitled to time in lieu, all too often these entitlements have been overlooked - the 'normalisation' of time in lieu accrual in schools will help to ensure that everyone's additional hours of work are properly acknowledged.
Fixed-term employment improvements
(Clauses 11.2 - 11.6)
Too many workers understand the pernicious effects of precarious employment – whether it’s the growing anxiety towards the end of a contract, the distraction from their core work as they hunt around for other jobs as a backup plan, or the reaction they get when applying for a bank loan. In our sector, Education Support Staff and teachers at the start of their career are particularly likely to find themselves in fixed-term employment, often on very flimsy pretexts and sometimes for many years.
The CEMEA builds on the work of previous Agreements to further tighten the rules around fixed-term employment, ensuring that all staff are afforded secure, ongoing positions except when there is genuine operational need for fixed-term employment.
On top of that, we've secured a better deal for casual employees, including significantly higher daily rates for Casual Relief Teachers.
Flexible leave
(Clause 30.4)
Here's a new provision that may have sneaked under the radar: staff in Catholic education are now entitled to take a day of personal leave each year as 'flexible leave' for any purpose.
Under this Agreement, personal leave is no longer limited to days when you are unwell or caring for a sick family member - you can now take a day for that special event, to move house, or simply to have a day off when you need it.
For a workforce so tied to the shape of the annual school calendar, this little bit of extra flexibility is a welcome change!
Stay tuned for the next suite of highlights – coming next week!
Find all our Know Your Agreement articles here
For other Agreement resources and explainers, click here
Got a question or comment? Anything you'd like to tell us about how implementation is going in your workplace? Click here to let us know!