Introduction to Concluding Employment Relationships
The ending (or concluding) of an employment relationship can be a normal part of the employment life cycle.
People move on from jobs for many reasons.
Sometimes, the circumstances that necessitate ending employment can be difficult for all parties, which is why your board should ensure that it has sufficient information on the relevant policies and procedures and that the procedures are carried out consistently.
All staff should be made aware of and have access to these policies and procedures. Then, they know what to expect and can have confidence in the school board as a good employer.
This article contains general information on handling resignations, notice periods, exit interviews, medical retirement, retirement, bereavement and dismissal.
Specific clauses for concluding employment are in the relevant collective agreements.
Don’t hesitate to contact us if you need further advice and support.
Resignations
Resignation may be given at any time by a permanent or fixed-term employee.
When employees intend to resign, they should first notify their direct manager (usually the principal or HoD) in writing of their resignation.
The resignation letter should include an intended end date that complies with the notice required in the relevant employment agreement; however, notice can be shorter by mutual agreement between the employer and employee (should it be requested).
When an employee resigns, it is a good opportunity to obtain feedback on their views of the school through an exit interview.
You may wish to use our resignation acceptance template letteropen_in_new to follow up with an employee after their resignation letter.
Sudden resignations
There can be several reasons or circumstances which trigger an employee to tender their resignation suddenly:
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A disciplinary or competency process is underway.
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Health reasons.
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A complaint is raised about the employee.
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Personal circumstances, such as stress, disagreement with a decision, or in response to a conflict within the workplace.
If a sudden, unexpected resignation is received, we recommend the following steps.
Contact our Advisory and Support Centre for advice.
Following your discussion with us:
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In writing, acknowledge receipt of the resignation and offer the employee the opportunity to talk with you as soon as possible, and
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Advise the employee that you would like to offer them some time (3-5 working days paid discretionary leave*) to reconsider their decision and allow time to talk with you (and/or family members and/or union representative) to discuss their intention to resign.
If they accept a meeting invitation, the purpose of the meeting is to gently enquire about the reasons for the resignation and to meet the school’s obligations to ensure their health and safety, such as:
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Do they need to see their doctor?
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Can you provide some leave?
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Do they need to seek further advice before going through with the resignation?
* Principals should check their delegations before approving a proposed period of paid discretionary leave.
Notice periods
If it is mutually convenient, the board may agree with the employee on a shorter or longer notice period than the one required by the relevant Collective Agreement or Individual Employment Agreement.
Nothing prevents an employee from giving more than the minimum amount of notice.
Please see below the notice required under each of the collective agreements:
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Teachers and principals: two months’ notice.
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Support staff (including teacher aides): one month’s notice.
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School caretakers, cleaners, and canteen staff: two weeks’ notice.
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Secondary and area school ground staff: two weeks’ notice.
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Kaiarahi i te Reo, therapists, ATSSD and special education assistants: one month’s notice.
For further information, please refer to the relevant Collective Agreement on the Ministry’s People and Employmentopen_in_new page.
Exit interviews
An exit interview can be either an interview or a survey conducted with employees when they choose to leave the school.
The exit interview is an important part of a good transition process for both the departing employee and the school.
Participation in an exit interview or survey should be voluntary.
These can either be done electronically via a questionnaire or face to face.
Exit interviews or surveys are not intended to be a vehicle for a departing employee to raise complaints or issues, especially if they have previously not attempted to raise a concern.
The exit interview should be designed to determine more than just why an employee is leaving.
In addition to asking for some suggestions for improvement, a useful exit interview should seek to gain employees’ views on the school’s working conditions, leadership, and general environment.
Besides the time and monetary costs involved, losing employees can be very costly in terms of losing their experience, skillset, and the relationship they have built with school staff, students and the community.
Therefore, the feedback gained from exit interviews must be taken seriously, and appropriate follow-up action must be taken on that feedback if any areas of improvement are identified.
The board and principal should agree on the process of exit interviews and who has the authority to conduct these.
We recommend the board agrees to the process before commencing an exit interview at your school or kura.
Be sure to explain to all employees (including when inducting new employees) that exit interviews or surveys are to gain insight into the employee’s perception of the school as a workplace and highlight any constructive suggestions for improvement.
Assure employees that they will not prejudice themselves no matter what they say.
The purpose is to understand employee perceptions of the workplace and identify any areas for improvement.
If they have been a good employee, any references sought must reflect this, rather than being a reflection upon what they had to say when leaving.
Confidentiality must also be maintained when receiving exit interview feedback, with the board and principal setting the standard and leading by example.
See examples of questions in our exit interview sample questionnaireopen_in_new.
Medical retirement
Medical retirement can be considered for secondary teachers, secondary principals, area school teachers, area school principals, and primary principals who have a terminal or serious illness.
It is not currently available to primary teachers.
To meet the threshold for consideration of medical retirement, an employee may have a terminal or serious illness that causes them to be incapable of continuing to work or returning to work.
Information is available in several collective agreements to determine eligibility for medical retirement.
A teacher or principal eligible for medical retirement for serious and/or terminal illness may elect to take retirement under the employment agreement provisions instead.
They cannot take both and are entitled to one payment only.
We also recommend that when dealing with a potential medical retirement situation, seek early advice from us to help you manage the process.
Retirement
There is no set age at which an employee must retire from work.
Employees cannot be made to retire because of their age.
If there are emerging health or performance issues with an older employee, these must be managed as they would with any other staff member.
The notice period for intending retirement is the same as for resignation.
There may be long service provisions and some historical (also known as “grand-parented”) provisions for employees with considerable service in the education sector.
This service is not just the service undertaken at your school.
Schools are expected to budget for any retirement-related provisions that Education Payroll does not cover.
Retirement from the workforce should be approached in the same manner as all other aspects of the employment life cycle – transparently, constructively, and in a timely manner.
An employee or employer may initiate a conversation around retirement.
However, if doing so as the employer, care and caution should be taken when initiating this conversation.
Some sample questions might be:
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Have you given any thought to when you might want to retire?
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Is there a transition to retirement plan you may have thought about?
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How can we accommodate a transition to retirement that best supports you and ensure that we can continue to benefit from your extensive skills, knowledge and experience?
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If the employee is considering retirement – How would you like us to recognise and acknowledge your retirement?
Instead of retiring, an employee may wish to reduce their hours and/or days of work.
This can be applied for and considered under a Flexible Working Arrangement. (They may be interested in taking on different roles, such as mentoring a newly qualified teacher or assisting with other projects.)
For example, you might want to offer them the opportunity to review and develop curriculum programmes.
The key thing to remember is that older employees can and do continue to make valuable contributions to the workplace.
Dismissal
The process of dismissing an employee can be complex, and making a mistake can mean serious and costly litigation.
Dismissal is the most common reason for an employee to raise a personal grievance.
It is also an area where the employer may have to defend their actions leading up to the dismissal.
It is strongly recommended that principals contact us before taking any action that could ultimately end in dismissal.
If dismissal occurs, this will generally be at the end of a disciplinary or competency procedure and only where these procedures have failed to remedy the problem.
There must be a good reason for a dismissal, and the dismissal must be procedurally in order.
Employers are expected to act fairly and reasonably at all times, with objectivity and consistency.
The concepts of what constitutes fair, equitable, and acceptable treatment have been progressively defined by case law.
Notice periods contained in employment agreements must be complied with.
Exceptions will exist where summary (immediate) dismissal can be justified.
However, in general, a dismissal action would be preceded by oral and written warnings.
It is strongly recommended that principals contact us if they are dealing with conduct that they believe may warrant summary dismissal.
Constructive dismissal
Constructive dismissal is also known as forced resignation and occurs when an employer puts pressure (directly or indirectly) on an employee to resign.
An employee may also successfully argue a constructive dismissal when the employer makes the situation at work intolerable for the employee, and they feel forced to resign.
An employee who considers they have been forced to resign may raise a personal grievance.
Bereavement of an employee
Compassionate grants may be payable to the next of kin when an employee passes away.
Any entitlements will be contained in the appropriate employment agreement.
A support plan can be put in place; for further details, see the Ministry of Education website on Prepare for an emergency or traumatic incidentopen_in_new.
The impact of an employee’s bereavement on other staff and students should also be considered and may require further actions, communication, and support.
Steps should be taken to safeguard the employee’s belongings and transfer these to their next of kin once the next of kin’s identity has been verified.
Other considerations include swift payments of grants and leniency in the use of employment-related accommodation for a set period.
Abandonment of employment
An employee may have abandoned their employment when they are absent from work for an extended period without explanation.
However, not all unauthorised absences are abandonment.
Employers must make a big effort to contact the employee before taking action.
Employment NZ website has good advice to follow if you think you might be dealing with an abandonment of employmentopen_in_new situation.
We also recommend that you contact our ASC for specific advice and further support in these circumstances.
Templates, resources, and references
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