Working in More Than One School

Employees who work in more than one school

Overview

Targeted funded initiatives at times result in an employee working in more than 1 school. Examples include MARC or MACC, visiting teacher and instrumental music programs. There are also times when employees are successful in obtaining part-time employment at more than 1 school, such as teachers of languages or teacher aides. It is recognised that these programs and employment opportunities are necessary and intrinsic to the educational program delivery to students in Victorian government schools.

Terms and conditions

The terms and conditions of employees who work in a number of locations are identical to the terms and conditions of employees who work in 1 location. In circumstances where an employee is employed in a number of schools, either as a result of a targeted funded initiative or the employment arrangements of a particular employee, it is essential that an administrative base school be identified for that employee.

The responsibility of the administrative base school principal is to ensure, in consultation with the other principals, that terms and conditions of employment of that employee are consistent with Departmental policy requirements and relevant legislative and industrial obligations. This would include oversight of the program of work across the schools to ensure, for example, that the work required is neither unreasonable nor excessive, that performance and development arrangements are in place, and arrangements for administrative matters such as leave and salary are understood.

While the terms and conditions are the same as for all employees, there are some areas that require particular consideration where an employee works in more than one school.

Part-time positions at more than one school

Where an ongoing employee employed part-time at one school is successful in obtaining an additional part-time position at another school, this is not to be regarded as a separate employment offer. In this instance the employee will have a temporary or permanent time fraction increase, depending on whether the additional position is for a fixed period or ongoing respectively. Where the additional part-time position results in a permanent time fraction increase the principals should review and agree which school will be the employee’s base school. Where agreement cannot be reached the base school remains unchanged.

Where a fixed-term employee employed part-time at one school is successful in obtaining an additional ongoing part-time position at another school, the employee should be given a new offer of ongoing employment by the school with the ongoing position reflecting the ongoing part-time position and a temporary time fraction increase reflecting the original fixed term position. In this case it would be usual for the school making the offer of ongoing employment to become the base school for that employee.

Where a fixed term employee employed part-time at one school is successful in obtaining an additional fixed term part-time position at another school, the employee should be given a new offer of employment by the base school reflecting the combined part-time positions. In this case the principals should review and agree on the appropriate base school. Where agreement cannot be reached the base school remains unchanged.

Schools Recruitment Unit will need to be contacted to give effect to any change to an employee’s base school.

Meetings or parent-teacher reporting sessions

A teacher employed full-time may be required to attend up to 2 hours of meetings per week and undertake 1 hour of other duties in addition to the minimum 7 hour attendance requirement, subject to prior consultation and mutual agreement as to the time, date and type of duties to be undertaken. The principal of the base school, in consultation with the other principals and the teacher, should determine the arrangements that are to apply. This may include varying arrangements to accommodate the different settings, for example, requiring the teacher to attend meetings at the different schools on a rotational basis.

It is recognised that a teacher may be required at parent-teacher reporting sessions at all schools. The Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2017 provides for time in lieu to compensate for any attendance requirements in excess of the 38 hour week. Time in lieu will be determined at the base school after consultation with the other principal(s).

Leave

The approval of discretionary leave (such as leave without pay or long service leave) by the base school principal is to be considered following consultation with the other principals having regard to the educational program delivery in each of the schools and the needs of the employee.

Travel

Where an employee is required to travel between schools on any day, travel time needs to be factored into the required work.

An employee may be entitled to travel reimbursement where the distance from their home to a non-base school exceeds that which would normally occur when travelling from home to their base school.

Excess

Where it is identified that an employee who works in more than 1 school is potentially excess to requirements, the base school is responsible for managing that situation in accordance with the Department’s Management of Excess — Teaching Service Policy and Guidelines in the Excess Procedures — Teaching Service topic. The consultation and identification phases are to involve all the schools at which the employee works. That is, strategies to avoid the need to identify an employee as excess should be explored in all of the schools and volunteers to become excess should be sought from all of the schools.

Where the base school identifies an employee who works in more than 1 school as excess to requirements, the person is excess for their full hours of work, not a proportion of their hours. All of the schools will continue, unless otherwise agreed, with the existing employment and salary charging arrangements for the person until the excess situation is resolved, be that reabsorption, redeployment or retrenchment.

Should retrenchment action be initiated and a volunteer invited to replace the employee who would otherwise be retrenched, that invitation is to be issued to employees in all of the schools in which the excess employee works.