Appointing a Music or Speech-language Therapist
As discussed in the overview article for the therapists’ pay equity settlement, there are some additional steps your school needs to take when recruiting a music or speech-language therapist:
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Before advertising, your school will need to decide whether it will make registration or membership of the respective industry professional association a condition of employment for the position.
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Before offering employment for music therapists, your school also needs to determine whether the person you are appointing meets the appropriate registration requirements to be covered by the pay equity settlement and then use the proper classification code.
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Before offering employment for a speech-language therapist (SLT) position, your school must also know that the Salary Assessment Unit determines whether the pay equity settlement covers an SLT.
Keep reading to learn more about these additional steps.
What are the professional associations for these two professions?
The industry professional associations are Music Therapy New Zealandopen_in_new (MThNZ) and New Zealand Speech-language Therapists’ Associationopen_in_new (NZSTA).
Should registration or membership of these associations be a condition of employment?
This is a decision for your school to make before the appointment.
MThNZ and NZSTA provide professional development, networking, support, and advocacy to their respective members. These services can help therapists keep their skill sets current and facilitate contact with other therapists in their discipline.
The Ministry of Education reimburses the cost to the employee if your school makes registration or membership a condition of employment. For more information on what the Ministry requires for the reimbursement process and what is not covered, please see page 16 of the joint Implementation Guideopen_in_new.
If your school decides to make registration with MThNZ or membership of NZSTA a condition of employment, they will need to include:
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That registration with MThNZ, or membership of NZSTA, will be a condition of employment in the job advertisement, and
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Maintaining registration with MThNZ, or membership of NZSTA, in the “general responsibility” section of the job description, and
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The condition in the letter of offer (our letters of offer have such wording).
You should note that making registration or membership a condition of employment means they cannot appoint someone who does not meet the condition.
How do you know if the pay equity settlement covers a Music or Speech-language Therapist?
An employee is covered by the settlement automatically if they are:
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Employed to do therapist work (as defined in clause 9 of the Settlement Agreementopen_in_new), and
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Registered with MThNZ and hold a current practising certificate issued by the New Zealand Music Therapy Registration Board, or
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A New Zealand Speech-language Therapists’ Association member.
Registration or membership status is confirmed by enquiring directly with the respective body. This process can be done at the same time your school performs the professional membership checks required as part of the safety checking process.
Your school will use the appropriate classification code when entering the employee into Education Payroll to ensure that the employee receives the settlement's benefits.
Classification codes are how your school confirms to Education Payroll that an employee is eligible for the settlement's benefits and should be paid accordingly. They are different from designation codes.
More information on classification codes can be found in the joint Implementation Guideopen_in_new.
Does not being registered with MThNZ mean a Music Therapist is not covered?
A music therapist who does not hold membership and registration with MThNZ is still covered if they are eligible for registration with MThNZ.
Eligibility to hold registration with MThNZ means someone who:
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Holds either a Master of Music Therapy from a New Zealand university or, if they studied overseas, a two-year post-graduate qualification in music therapy that has been assessed as equivalent (this assessment could have been done by NZQA, MThNZ or a New Zealand university), and
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Is undertaking relevant continuing professional development (what can constitute relevant professional development can be found in this information sheetopen_in_new), and
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Is engaging in professional supervision (what is appropriate supervision is discussed in this information sheetopen_in_new)
Your school must ask for sufficient evidence to satisfy itself that the person meets all three points. Please contact our Advisory and Support Centre if you have questions about the evidence provided.
Previous assessment of qualification and/or registration with MThNZ is valid evidence. Consistent with your school’s safety checking obligations, however, it should seek an explanation for why they are no longer a member.
If, based on the evidence provided, your school believes that they would be eligible for registration if they applied for it, the employee is covered, and the available letters of offeropen_in_new can be used.
Your school also uses the appropriate classification code, so the employee will receive the settlement benefits.
A music therapist who is not registered with MThNZ, or is not eligible to be so, is not covered by the settlement. They may still be employed, but you must contact our Advisory and Support Centre for support with such an appointment. The letter of offer for therapists is not suitable for these appointments.
Does not being a Speech-language Therapists’ Association member mean an SLT is not covered?
If a SLT does not hold registration with the New Zealand Speech-language Therapists’ Association (NZSTA), they may still be covered by the settlement if they are eligible for NZSTA membership.
This decision is ultimately made by the Salary Assessment Unit (“SAU”), which, while determining the starting salary/step an SLT is appointed on, will also conclude whether the settlement covers the SLT.
Factors the SAU will consider are:
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completing, or having completed, the process required by the NZSTA new graduateopen_in_new or return to practice programmeopen_in_new framework provided by NZSTA, or
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membership of one of the six international bodiesopen_in_new that have a mutual recognition agreement with NZSTA who also meets the dysphagia competency requirementsopen_in_new, or
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overseas training that meets the criteria to become a registered memberopen_in_new (including meeting the dysphagia competency requirementsopen_in_new).
The available letters of offer factor in this decision making process by the SAU.
It is important to note that the SAU’s decision on coverage does not substitute your school undertaking its usual due diligence when recruiting. Your school is still responsible for ensuring the person they are employing is appropriately qualified and capable of performing the SLT role.
The settlement does not cover a person not ultimately eligible for NZSTA membership. Such a person will be employed solely based on the provisions of the Primary Teachers’ Collective Agreement (or promulgated individual employment agreement).
Templates, resources, and references
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