Employment Limitation

Policy

This policy provides guidelines for schools on employment limitations.

Summary

• An employment limitation is a limitation on a person’s eligibility for employment or engagement with the department. This limitation includes work as a casual employee via a casual relief agency.
• An employment limitation may be applied when a concern arises about a person’s conduct, performance and/or suitability to be employed in a Victorian government school, Early Learning Victoria (ELV) centre or in another department workplace.
• As part of pre-employment screening and suitability checks, if a former employee has an employment limitation in place, this will be flagged through the payroll system if any government school tries to re-employ them in the future.
• Principals, managers, nominated supervisors and school councils (via the principal as executive officer) must use eduPay to check for employment limitations for any new employees.

Details

The Department of Education (the department) has an obligation to support the maintenance of proper standards of performance and conduct for employees of the department, and to protect and provide for the welfare and safety of students, children and other employees. In this context, from time-to-time persons are considered unsuitable for employment with the department and may have an employment limitation imposed.

The process of imposing an employment limitation aims to balance fair and reasonable treatment of former employees and/or job applicants with the department’s fundamental responsibility to protect the welfare and safety of students, children and other employees and to comply with its legal obligations.

These guidelines set out the department’s policy on employment limitations. The guidelines explain what an employment limitation is, the legal basis to impose a limitation, circumstances when a limitation may be applied and review mechanisms where a person seeks to have a limitation removed.

In these guidelines a reference to the department includes a reference to a school council established under Part 2.3 of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic) (ETR Act) and a reference to an employee includes a reference to a person employed under Part 2.3 or Part 2.4 and Chapter 2A of the ETR Act or section 20 of the Public Administration Act 2004 (Vic) (the PA Act).

Related policies

• Child Safe Standards
• Code of Conduct
• Fitness for Duty
• Managing Conduct and Unsatisfactory Performance in the Teaching Service
• Protecting Children – Reporting and Other Legal Obligations
• Recruitment in Schools
• Suitability for Employment Checks

Relevant legislation

• Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005 (Vic)
• Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic)
• Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth)
• Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission Act 2011
• Ministerial Order 1388 (for teaching service) (PDF)
• Ministerial Order 1389 (for school council employees) (PDF)
• Ministerial Order 1454 (for ELV centres) (PDF)
• Public Administration Act 2004 (Vic)
• Public Interest Disclosure Act 2012 (Vic)