Audience
This procedure applies to all state school teachers engaged under the Teaching in State Education Award - State 2016.
Purpose
This procedure details how a teacher can apply for recognition of prior service and how their application will be assessed for the purpose of allocating remuneration levels.
Overview
A teacher may seek recognition for their prior employment experience if it relates directly to their role as a teacher. This may include recognition for previous teaching experience (including kindergarten teaching), private enterprise experience and/or self-employment experience. This will not include prior service for tutoring and life education. The recognition of prior service – teachers factsheet provides further information about what is recognised as prior service.
Prior service applications can be recognised as one of three (3) categories of recognition for which the following rates of recognition apply to the initial appointment:
- Category 1: full recognition - 100%
- Category 2: partial recognition - 50%
- Category 3: partial recognition - 33%.
Responsibilities
Teachers
- Follow the designated process for preparing and requesting recognition of prior service.
- Submit all requests for the recognition of prior service including statement of service/s, to the teacher classifications team (Payroll Services) within one (1) month of the date of commencement of employment with the department and provide further documentary evidence, if requested, within the required three (3) month period.
Teacher classification team (Payroll Services)
- Assess each application, confirming the appropriate category of recognition and considering the merit of each application.
Principals / head of departments
- Upon request, provide advice to the teacher classification team in regard to the relevance of prior experience to the teacher’s teaching role at the time of their initial appointment as a teacher in their specialised field of experience (this relates to industry experience not teaching experience).
Teacher applicant centre
- Ensure prior service information is entered into the department’s relevant human resources database for new applicants.
Process
1. Request for recognition of prior service
Identification of eligibility
Identification of possible eligibility for recognition of prior service can occur in two ways:
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Identification by the teacher classification team. When an individual applies to register as a teacher, they provide details of their prior service on the Application for permission to teach. When the teacher is engaged by the department, the application for permission to teach form is provided to the department. The Teacher Applicant Centre ensures prior service information is entered into the department’s relevant human resource database/s. The teacher classification team identifies new starters with potential prior service based on their employment history and requests information from the new teacher, if it is not already on the file.
OR
Teaching experience whilst on special leave from the department (see definitions) may be considered previous service.
Supporting documentation required
All requests for recognition of prior service require supporting documentation in the form of a Statement of service. Statements of service which do not meet the required criteria (as detailed in the definitions) cannot be assessed and a request for additional information will be made to the employee.
Timing of request for recognition of prior service
All applications must be submitted within one month:
- the date of employment, or
- return from leave, or
- re-engagement with the department.
Any application for assessment received in excess of one month from the initial appointment / engagement date will be reclassified from the date of receipt only.
The teacher classification team can request additional information if required from the teacher or principal / head of department to complete their assessment. When requested, the teacher must provide further documentary evidence, within a three month period.
Failure to meet the above outlined timeframes will result in no retrospective entitlement for salary purposes. Salary classifications will only be adjusted from the date the full and correct finalised documentation is received by the teacher classification team.
2. Assess request for recognition of prior service and determine category and calculate classification level
Assessing the application
On receipt of the application, the teacher classification team:
- ensures the application is measured against the benchmark tasks in which all applications for full recognition of meritorious teaching service are measured.
- must be satisfied that the teacher’s previous employment involved participation in at least a majority of the benchmark tasks.
- when assessing recognition of prior industry experience, must ensure recognition is only given to employment that ceased in the five year period to the date of initial appointment as a teacher in their initial specialised teaching role. Employment that ceased outside this time period is not recognised as service for salary classification purposes.
- must ensure recognition is not given to employment on a casual day-to-day service on an irregular basis. For the recognition of casual service, five or more consecutive in one location is required, or alternately a pattern of working consecutive weeks on the same days at the one location needs to be established.
- determines and calculates the classification level for recognition of prior service based on the categories of recognition (see definitions).
Notification and implementation of outcome
On recognition of prior service, the teacher’s pay will be adjusted and this will be reflected on their next payslip. Should a request for recognition of prior service be unsuccessful, the teacher classification team will email the teacher to advise the outcome.
Definitions
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Term
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Definition
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Benchmark tasks
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The Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 (Qld) defines a "teacher" as a member of a State educational institution. The Education Queensland position description further defines a teacher's role as including the following tasks:
- planning, preparation and delivery of effective learning and teaching programs for every student in allocated classes and/or groups
- contributing to the development and implementation of the school objectives and school planning
- contributing to the establishment and maintenance of a supportive school environment
- contributing to and assisting with the management and further development of personnel, financial, information and technology, assets and facilities resources of the school to ensure their optimum use in meeting educational and departmental objectives.
These tasks form the benchmark against which applications for full recognition of previous meritorious teaching service should be measured. The teacher classification team is to be reasonably satisfied that the teacher’s previous employment involved participation in at least a majority of these tasks.
Further information regarding recognition of certain types of previous experience is provided in the recognition of prior service – teachers factsheet.
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Category 1: full recognition – 100%
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- Prior meritorious teaching service performed as a qualified teacher in a school or institution affiliated or certified by an approved board or national office.
- For recognition of Category 1 service, initial appointment is the first engagement as either a temporary or permanent teacher. Re-engagement relates to employees who cease their service as a teacher with the department and return to the department as a teacher at a later date.
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Category 2: partial recognition - 50%
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- Prior meritorious teaching service performed as either a qualified teacher at a non-affiliated/certified school or institution; or as an unqualified teacher at an affiliated/certified school or institution.
- Prior service performed by certain Education Queensland employees engaged as officers under the administrative and professional stream of employees in the Queensland Public Service Award – State 2015 and General Employees (Queensland Government Departments) and other employees Award – State 2015 (OPS Award) may possess skills and experience of benefit and relevance to their role as a teacher. For example: Prior service as a qualified librarian directly relevant to the role of a teacher librarian.
- For recognition of Category 2 service, initial appointment is the first engagement as either a temporary or permanent teacher.
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Category 3: partial recognition - 33%
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Prior meritorious industry service performed as an "employee" in a calling that can reasonably be recognised as providing the employee with a range of skills and experiences directly relevant to their initial appointment as a teacher in their specialised field of experience.
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Industry experience
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- Industry experience relates to recognition of previous employment in private enterprise that is relevant to a teacher’s initial appointment in their specialised field of experience.
- For previous industry experience to be viewed as relevant, it must have ceased within the five year period prior to the date of initial appointment as a teacher in their specialised field of experience. Employment that ceased outside this time period (i.e. more than five years prior to the appointment as a teacher) will not be recognised as service for salary classification purposes.
- Examples of recognition of previous employment in private enterprise include, but are not limited to:
- accountant employed as an accounting teacher
- scientist in a laboratory employed as a science teacher
- construction worker employed as a manual arts teacher
- librarian employed as a teacher librarian.
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Prior Service
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The following types of prior service can be recognised for the purposes of teacher salaries:
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Teaching experience: A statement of service from the previous employer/from the affiliated / certified school or institution (please also see the Recognition of prior service – teachers factsheet).
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Private enterprise experience: Your application must relate to employment in an industry that is relevant to your initial appointment as a teacher in your specialised field of experience and your application is accompanied by appropriate supporting documentary evidence (see also industry experience).
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Self-employment experience: Duties performed in a self-employed capacity will require a statement (which must be supplied by the business accountant) which contains the following information:
- the nature of the employment
- the nature of the employment performed in a self-employed capacity
- the total commitment, in years, months and days, for the duration of that employment.
Further information regarding recognition of certain types of previous experience is provided in the recognition of prior service – teachers factsheet.
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Statement of service
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A document that satisfies the following criteria:
- is an original or certified copy of an original document
- is on the letterhead of the organisation, affiliated/certified school or institution
- provides the location details of the institution
- specifies the exact nature of the employment performed and position held (i.e. details of the duties performed in prior service which are directly related to educating in an appropriately affiliated or nationally registered educational institution).
- specifies the exact commencement and cessation dates of employment
- indicates whether or not any periods of unpaid leave were taken - if no leave without pay was taken then the statement must show "nil leave taken"
- provides the commencement and cessation dates of any unpaid leave;
- indicates periods of full-time or part-time employment. If part-time, hours worked per week is to be provided
- is signed by a representative of the previous employer.
Should the teacher be unable to source the necessary documentation from a previous employer a statutory declaration may be used (with the prior approval of the teacher classification team).
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Teaching experience whilst on special leave
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From 1 May 2006, service undertaken while on special leave without salary can be recognised for incremental salary purposes as per the following conditions:
- Service in state and non-state schools or institutions in another Australian state or overseas while on special leave without salary is approved teaching service.
- Service in non-state schools or institutions within Queensland while on special leave without salary is not approved teaching service.
- Service in any state and non-state school or institutions between 1 July 2003 and 30 April 2006 while on special leave without salary is not approved teaching service.
In these instances, the salary classification level will be adjusted from the date the finalised documentation is received by the teacher classification team.
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Legislation
Delegations/Authorisations
Other resources
Superseded versions
Previous seven years shown. Minor version updates not included.
Nil