Appointment of Substitute Teachers
Registration and Qualifications
As outlined in DES Circular 47/2011
The Minister for Education and Skills, in accordance with the authority conferred by section 24 of the Education Act 1998, directs that school authorities, as employers, ensure that teachers proposed for appointment to teaching posts for which salary grant is being sought must be:
1. Registered with the Teaching Council in accordance with Section 31 of the Teaching Council Act, 2001
And
2. Have qualifications appropriate to the sector and suitable to the post for which s/he is proposed.
The following exceptions will apply:
a) Where an employer can satisfactorily demonstrate that every reasonable effort has been made to recruit an appropriately qualified and registered teacher, an unqualified and/or unregistered person may be recruited pending the recruitment of an appropriately qualified and registered teacher and this provision must be inserted in the employment contract. The employer shall repeat the process to recruit an appropriately qualified and registered teacher within the period of any such contract and in any event within the school year. The person recruited will be remunerated at the unqualified rate.
b) In the case of an appointee who has applied to the Teaching Council, remuneration will be at the rate for unqualified persons pending the decision of the Council. This provision must be inserted in the employment contract. When registration for the sector and recognition of qualifications for the purpose of the post is achieved then incremental salary will be allowed from the date of registration. Otherwise the employer shall repeat the recruitment process within the school year.
Vetting
All persons being appointed to teaching positions must be vetted prior to commencing employment unless they have already been vetted during the same or previous calendar year. The requirement for vetting applies in respect of all types of appointment of any duration including full-time, part-time and substitute positions. Further information is available in DES Circular 63/2010.
Employment of Substitutes for Teacher Absences
For a full list of teacher absences for which a substitute may be employed see Section 1 of DES Circular 32/07.
The arrangements for teacher absences have been set out in three sections in DES Circular 0032/2007 – Section 1 relates to absences which allow for the employment of a substitute teacher to cover teacher absences such as Sick leave, Family leave, Personal leave and School Business Related Absence.
It should be noted that with the introduction of the On Line Claim System some absences for unpaid leave which have heretofore required the employment of a temporary/fixed term teacher will now be covered by the employment of a substitute (casual/non-casual) teacher. For example, under present arrangements a teacher on paid maternity leave is replaced by a substitute (casual/non-casual) teacher for the duration of paid maternity leave. When on unpaid maternity leave she is replaced by a temporary/fixed term teacher. Henceforth, the full absence, maternity leave, leave-in-lieu, unpaid maternity leave etc., will be covered by the appointment of a substitute (casual/non-casual) teacher.
Casual / Non Casual Substitute
A teacher who is employed in a primary school under a contract which obliges him/her to work for a period in excess of 40 days in the school year but less than a full school year is classified as a non-casual substitute teacher. Such a teacher is paid at his/her appropriate annual salary divided by 183 for each day worked.
A teacher who is employed on a casual basis for a period of up to 40 days in a school year is classified as a casual substitute teacher and is paid a fixed daily rate which is inclusive of holiday pay. If such a teacher exceeds 40 days employment in a school year they are paid at the non-casual rate for any day in excess of 40 days.
The Department will meet the cost of supplying a substitute teacher replacing Principal teachers in one teacher schools who are absent for any reason as set out in Section 1 of this circular and with the permission of the Board of Management. Substitute cover will also be provided for Principals in one teacher schools in respect of Extra Personal Leave (EPV) days.
Substitute Cover arrangements for sick leave.
Rates of Pay
As has been agreed between the parties to the Conciliation and Arbitration Scheme for Teachers, a qualified substitute teacher will be paid at a fixed daily rate of €195.33, which is inclusive of holiday pay, until s/he has worked for a period in excess of 40 days in a school during the academic year.
In the event that such a qualified substitute teacher works for more than 40 days in the academic year, each additional day worked over and above 40 days will be paid at a personal daily rate. The personal daily rate is determined by the incremental point of the common basic scale and appropriate qualification allowance. Other allowances such as, long service allowance, gaeltacht allowance, and teaching through Irish allowance may be payable in individual circumstances. The personal daily rate will be calculated by dividing the appropriate annual salary by 183.
A non-casual contract is considered to be a contract of more than 40 days. Maternity or adoptive leave contracts are the only types of non-casual contract available to primary substitute teachers. Qualified substitute teachers who are employed in and complete a non-casual contract will be eligible to be paid the personal daily rate of pay from the first day of the non-casual contract. In such cases, the substitute will be paid the fixed daily rate (casual rate) for up to 40 days and the personal daily rate will be paid in arrears when the forty day threshold is passed.
Payment by Paypath
All substitute teachers are paid by paypath since 1st January, 2005. Boards of Management should ensure that all details regarding paypath are completed on the initial claim form by the substitute teacher to ensure that delays in payment are avoided.
Paypath details need only be submitted once and should only be re-submitted if there is a change in bank account details.
Incremental Credit for Substitute Teachers
At present incremental credit is only awarded to trained substitute teachers on appointment to a permanent post and the level awarded is limited to two years. This will remain to be the case in respect of substitute service given prior to the 20th December, 2001. However, with effect from the 20th December, 2001, one increment will be awarded for each 183 days service given by qualified substitute teachers. Arrangements are being put in place to calculate and pay any arrears of incremental credit due.
It should be noted that, where a substitute serves less than 40 days annually, salary will not be paid at the personal daily rate (incremental point).