Offering employment in a unionised environment
Nearly all roles within a school are covered by a collective agreement (CA).
You can view all of the CAs on the Ministry of Education's People and Employmentopen_in_new page.
The CA sets the terms and conditions for employment, including rates of pay and leave. We participate in negotiating these CAs with the Ministry of Education and the relevant union(s).
What is a coverage clause?
A coverage clause is included at the beginning of each CA.
It identifies the work, the employees, or both, that are covered by the terms and conditions of the CA.
It also names the parties to the unions and the employers party to the bargaining.
The coverage clause is negotiable in bargaining, so it may change from one version of the CA to the next.
How is an employee offered employment if a CA covers their work and they are a union member?
When an employee falls within a CA’s coverage clause, and is a member (or joins) the union/s party to the CA, they are automatically employed under the CA. No further action is required on your part.
They remain covered by the CA for as long as they are members of the union.
How is an employee offered employment if a CA covers their work and they are not a union member?
Employees who do not join the union, but fall within the coverage clause of a CA, are to be employed using a promulgated individual employment agreement (IEA). The IEA is to be provided to them at the same time as their letter of offer.
Promulgation is the process by which the Secretary of Education sets the terms and conditions of employees employed in schools who are not employed under a CA. Generally, the terms and conditions of an IEA will match the terms and conditions in the applicable IEA.
You must use the IEAs as promulgated by the Secretary of Education. Please visit the People and Employmentopen_in_new page on the Ministry of Education's website to access all the current IEAs for your use.
Consistent with section 62 of the Employment Relations Act, when employing an employee under an IEA in this situation, you are also required to inform non-union employees who have a collective agreement that covers their work that:
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There is a collective agreement that covers their work, and
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They may join a union that is party to that agreement, and
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They can contact the union (or unions), with details on how to do so, and
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If they join the union, they will be covered directly by the CA.
If an employee agrees, you must also advise the union/s as soon as reasonably practicable that the employee has entered into an IEA with your school.
Our letter of offer templates include this required information and allow the employee to indicate whether they agree to their information being provided to the union/s.
How is an employee offered employment if there is no CA that covers their work?
Generally, the only employees in education who are not covered by CAs are bus drivers, before/after school care workers, social and community workers, and hostel staff in hostels run by the school board.
If the employee does not fall under the coverage clause for any CA, they need to be given one of these promulgated IEAs for employees without CA coverageopen_in_new at the time they are provided their letter of offer. You must use the IEAs as promulgated by the Secretary of Education.
If you are unsure as to whether an employee falls within a coverage clause, you can call our Advisory and Support Centre for advice.
Can I offer terms over and above the CA or the promulgated IEA?
The terms and conditions of the CAs (or the promulgated IEAs based on them) cannot be changed or added to, unless the CA or IEA explicitly allows it, or without seeking and obtaining "concurrence" from the Ministry of Education.
Concurrence is formal approval to provide terms and conditions different to, or over and above, those set in the CAs.
For detailed information and the process to gain approval for special or additional employment terms and conditions, please refer to the Ministry of Education's website.
Note: concurrence is not guaranteed.
Templates, resources, and references
Click on the link(s) below to access the templates, resources, and references related to this topic.
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Ministry of Education
Education and Training Act 2020
Employment Relations Act 2000