An Introduction to Pay Equity in the Education Sector
In July 2017, along with the Ministry of Education and NZEI Te Riu Roa, we entered into a joint process to examine the pay equity claim raised by NZEI that because teacher aides are mostly female, their work is likely to be undervalued and underpaid.
Following the successful settlement of the Teacher Aide Pay Equity Claim (TAPEC), we have continued working with the Ministry and unions to address a range of other pay equity claims in the education sector.
Our thanks to our partners, sector stakeholders, school boards and principals who have been instrumental in creating and delivering positive change in the education sector.
Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025
The Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 discontinued the Teachers’ and Residential Support Workers’ pay equity claims. This means that schools as employers no longer have any required actions for these claims.
The Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 did not impact the other settled pay equity claims (such as those for Teacher Aides and Kaiārahi i te reo), except for nullifying the requirement that the settlements be reviewed periodically to ensure pay equity was maintained.
No new claims have been raised under the amended act.
The stages of a pay equity claim
There are five main stages of a pay equity claim.
Stage 1 – Raising the claim
The union representing a particular occupational group will notify the Secretary of Education that, for at least 10 years 70% (or more) of those working in these occupations are female and their work has been, and is currently, undervalued and underpaid.
Stage 2 – Investigation of complaint
Together, the Ministry and unions review a random sample of these staff from schools throughout New Zealand.
They look at job descriptions and talk to the staff, their leaders/supervisors and principals to learn more about the work they are doing, including their skills, responsibilities, working conditions and effort.
Stage 3 – Investigation of comparator roles
They then research male-dominated occupations that meet the requirements of section 13ZE of the Equal Pay Act 1972open_in_new where similar skills, responsibilities, working conditions and effort are needed.
Stage 4 – Assessment and analysis of evidence
They then compare the skills, responsibilities, working conditions and effort of the school staff and the comparator occupations and look at how much each group is paid for their work.
Then they determine if there is an undervaluation because of sex.
Stage 5 – Settlement
If they find there is no sex-based undervaluation, the claim is denied.
If they find there is sex-based undervaluation, the parties move to negotiate a settlement remuneration that no longer results in undervaluation because of sex.
Communication of pay equity information
During the first four stages of a pay equity claim, we are kept informed and up-to-date with the progress of the claim investigation process.
Once a claim has been agreed to and moves into the settlement stage, Te Whakarōputanga, the Ministry and unions meet regularly to plan the implementation of those pay equity settlements, including communicating strategies and resources required to enable schools to successfully translate the affected staff to the new rates of pay, any other related terms and conditions as well as the future application of those new provisions.
The Ministry sends regular communications and updates to school boards and principals, including what actions are required and when. Sometimes we are asked to be the direct communicator on behalf of the Ministry.
We recommend that any updates are also passed on to those who will need to administer the steps required in the process – schools must follow the steps requested by the Ministry/EPL within the required timeframes.
Note: If the person normally responsible for the administration of payroll in your school is also an affected employee of any negotiated pay equity outcomes, this creates a conflict of interest. You will need to take some immediate steps to ensure someone else takes over those responsibilities in the interim.
Our national employment and communication teams are involved in the overall communication strategy and release of updates and general communications.
You can read more about each settled claim in the Pay Equity section of our Resource Centre.
Templates, resources, and references
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