Safeguarding your service

A Casual Word: Education Quarterly, Issue 5 2023

Federation has noted an increase in members whose service record on SAP, the payroll system, is incorrect.

Due to this, it is incredibly important that members keep a record of the days/hours worked, so that when errors occur, you can rectify this as quickly and efficiently as possible.

This does not need to be an onerous task, but the benefits of a well-recorded service history can be extremely valuable when a mistake has been made.

For example, when a casual or temporary teacher gains a permanent position, all service, including casual and temporary service, will be combined in a salary review by the Department to determine the correct salary rate.

If for some reason a mistake is made, and some of your service is not counted, you may be required to provide records as evidence.

Do I need to keep any evidence or records of my casual and temporary teaching service?

Yes. It is always a good idea to regularly request the Department to provide a written statement of your service for your records, this is called a Record of Employment or Service History.

Statements of service are important when trying to establish entitlements to salary increases, long service leave, sick leave and so on.

Statements of your service are particularly important when your casual and temporary teaching service extends back over several years and Department payroll systems.

It is recommended that you keep separate personal records of your work including the name of the schools and dates of engagements.

This can be done by keeping copies of service records from the Department’s portal and leave forms and/or entries, pay advice slips/screenshots, tax group certificates or even a diary of the individual days worked, and the name of the teacher replaced.

What can happen if I don’t keep my own records?

Federation has taken up cases where errors have occurred for individual casual teachers.

Some cases have been hampered where the individuals concerned have no formal records of their work from that time.

Individually held records allow Federation to dispute service records if there is a discrepancy between your record and the Department’s records.