Members’ matters
Know your rights The team in Member Assist look at some changes in the Schools 2019 General Agreement that will affect members Short Leave Award clause 40
(9)
The short leave clause has been changed significantly and now reads: (1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
The Employer may, upon sufficient cause being shown, grant an employee short leave on full pay not exceeding three (3) working days in any one (1) calendar year, subject to the following provisions. Short leave can only be taken for matters: (a)
of a personal and pressing nature;
(b)
which arise with little or no notice;
(c)
which require immediate attention; and
(d)
that cannot reasonably be conducted outside normal business hours.
Notwithstanding subclause 40(2), the Employer may approve an application for matters of a personal and pressing nature, which require the attendance of the employee at a time outside the control of the employee. Short leave will not be approved for regular ongoing situations or for circumstances normally met by other forms of leave.
(5)
Short leave may be taken in full days, or a period of less than one day.
(6)
An employee can take more than one (1) day at any one time of short leave, subject to the discretion of the Employer. Notification of a request for short leave is to be made as soon as is practicable.
(8)
An employee may be required by the Employer to provide an explanation of the reasons for taking short leave.
Know Your Rights
KYR
(7)
8
Failure to notify the Employer as soon as is practicable will result in this leave being treated as absent without leave.
(10) Short leave entitlements do not accrue from year to year. Duties other than Teaching Award clause 14(2)
(a)
DOTT for primary teachers will increase at the commencement of the 2021 school year.
(c)
Clause 14(2) reads: Effective from the commencement of the 2021 school year, the period of time for primary school teachers provided for at subclause 1(b) will increase to 270 minutes per week. Face to face teaching Award clause 13(3) As a consequence of the DOTT time being increased for primary teachers, face to face time will decrease. Clause 13(3) reads: Effective from the commencement of the 2021 school year, the maximum number of hours of face to face teaching time for primary teachers will decrease to 21 hours and 20 minutes per week. Teachers – Duties other than Teaching (DOTT) time General Agreement 2019 clause 11 The short leave clause has been changed significantly and now reads: 11.1 When a Teacher chooses to exercise the option provided for in clause 10Teachers - Face To Face Teaching of this Agreement, the weekly allocation of DOTT will decrease corresponding to the face to face teaching in excess of the weekly maximum specified in clause 14 - Teachers - Duties Other Than Teaching (DOTT) Time of the Award.
Have a question? A full compilation of Know Your Rights information sheets are available on the SSTUWA website and app. Information will soon be updated to incorporate the 2019 General Agreements. Schools: sstuwa.org.au/schoolsKYR | TAFE: visit sstuwa.org.au/TAFEkyr You can also speak with your union rep and contact Member Assist: (08) 9210 6060 | 1800 106 683 | memberassist@sstuwa.org.au
Western Teacher
August 2020
11.2 Principals will ensure that the priority use of DOTT time is for Teachers to focus on teaching, learning and assessment. Activities undertaken during DOTT time may include, but are not limited to: preparing materials;
(b) planning lessons; finding resources;
(d) professional reading; (e) setting up for lessons; (f)
record keeping/report writing;
(g) supervising students in a nonclassroom environment such as sports carnivals and excursions. 11.3 Without limiting clause 11.2 the Parties support collaborative DOTT sessions for the purposes of sharing expertise, workloads or planning where these are Teacher led and directed. The timing and frequency of such sessions must not conflict with the priority use of DOTT as provided for at clause 11.2. 11.4 Decisions on the use of DOTT time should not unreasonably impinge upon the capacity of Teachers to focus on teaching, learning and assessment. For example, DOTT time should not be regularly timetabled to conflict with regularly scheduled school activities such as assemblies. Electronic and Other Communication Advice General Agreement 2019 clause 30 This is a new clause in the General Agreement and reads: 30.1 Further to clause 9(2) and 16(7) of this Agreement, Teachers and School Administrators are not required to initiate or respond to electronic and other communication from school staff, parents or community members when not on site. This includes time when staff members are on sick leave or Approved leave, public holidays and student vacation time. 30.2 Clause 30.1 does not apply in the case of an emergency, or where there are staffing or health related issues where failure to communicate could lead to Employees being disadvantaged.
