Federation win for probationary teachers

By

Bob Lipscombe

New Scheme teachers won't have to wait so long to progress along the salaries scale.

Federation has succeeded in overturning a Department of Education and Training (DET) decision to delay progress along the incremental salaries scale for New Scheme teachers who satisfactorily completed their probationary year but had not yet received their Accreditation at Professional Competence from the Institute of Teachers. As a consequence of the DET's earlier decision, hundreds of teachers who satisfactorily completed their probationary year were being forced to wait months for their salary increase while the DET processed their accreditation.

Despite claims to the contrary by some School Education Directors and other DET officers, the problem was most commonly caused by the failure of School Education Directors to process paperwork for Institute accreditation and not by any failure of the Institute of Teachers.

From now on incremental progression following the probationary year will not be dependent on the DET's processing of Institute accreditation paperwork. All New Scheme teachers, provided that there are no concerns about a teacher's service or performance, will now receive their incremental payment on the anniversary of their appointment.

In correspondence to the Federation dated April 11, DET agreed to ensure that all New Scheme teachers for whom increments had been withheld pending Accreditation at Professional Competence would be placed on the correct incremental rate on April 17, and receive retrospective payments back to the date on which they should have received their increment.

Bob Lipscombe is the Deputy President.

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May 2008 contents