Know Your Agreement: Victorian Catholic Education Agreement Highlights - Part 5
This is the fifth and final in our series unpacking important clauses in our new Agreement, including some details you might have missed which could significantly enhance your working life.
Find the complete Know Your Agreement series of articles here.
Reductions in Scheduled Class Times
(Clause 61.3 – 61.4)
The Scheduled Class Time (SCT) reductions of one hour in 2023 and a further half-hour in 2024 are the biggest changes to SCT in decades.
This reduction, combined with the 30 + 8 model, does something unprecedented – it provides teachers with real, substantial time within the working week to get their teaching-related work done. That’s a real relief to teachers accustomed to taking home piles of marking to do after dinner or over the weekend.
From next year, a primary teacher will have 9 hours per week ‘quarantined’ for them to use at their discretion for class-related work such as planning, preparation and assessment. For a secondary teacher this will be 11.5 hours per week. This time must be available in ‘usable blocks’ (ie. not 10-minute windows between classes and duties!) and cannot be directed by their employer.
In addition, extras are being phased out in secondary schools – down to a maximum of 5 hours across all of 2024 and gone altogether in 2025.
And, finally, scheduled assemblies are now included in the calculation of SCT.
Find out more here!
Redundancy and severance reforms
(Clause 19.4 & Appendix 2, Clause 1.4)
Redundancy
This Agreement provides earlier access to the maximum redundancy pay. Employees will now be eligible for 21 weeks' pay (or 25 weeks' if over 45 years of age) if they have over 12 years of continuous service (compared with 15 years of continuous service under the VCEMEA).
Importantly, this also applies to part-time employees who elect to receive a severance payment because the employer has proposed to substantially reduce the employee's hours of work – if they have over 12 years of service, they will be eligible for a severance payment of 21 weeks salary if under 45, or 25 weeks if they are over 45.
Notice of Resignation
While the same notice of resignation requirements apply, this Agreement removes the financial penalty for employees who do not give at least four weeks’ notice of resignation. Under the previous Agreement, the employer was able to withhold salary equivalent to the difference (so for example if 2 weeks’ notice was given, the employer could withhold up to 2 weeks’ worth of salary).
The hidden gems!
Get to the IEU website and check out the details, because you will find plenty of under-the-radar wins, including:
Long service leave calculation improvements for part-time staff
Improved consultation of major changes for principals
Increased position of leadership allowances and graduate teacher payments
Increased meal allowances
Clarification that employees cannot be held liable for breakage and loss of employer property (except in the case of serious negligence)
Increases to tool allowance and the medical support allowance
A new provision requiring the provision of tools and equipment necessary for employees to perform their work.
Under this Agreement, the 'i's have been dotted and the 't's crossed to make improvements to many aspects of IEU members' working lives.
Make sure you are fully aware of your new entitlements, and get in touch if you have any questions or need advice or support!
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!