14th February 2019
The INTO met with officials from the Department of Education and Skills (DES) on Tuesday in relation to this issue. The INTO reiterated that the continued over taxation of subs is wholly unacceptable and has caused undue hardship for these teachers, who are among our most vulnerable members. The INTO also stated that the communications from the DES on this issue has been completely unsatisfactory.
What’s causing the problem?
The DES briefed the INTO that the issue arose as a result of the implementation of the PAYE modernisation project. An incorrect end date of employment was sent to Revenue for substitute staff paid on the Department payrolls (January 3rd and 17th for post primary substitute teachers and on January 10th for primary and non-teaching staff). The new Revenue systems updated the employees’ records immediately. This update caused
Revenue to immediately reduce the tax credits and cut off points to zero for this cohort of staff which meant that when they were next paid, there were no tax credits available to be applied to the salary. This has meant that some primary subs paid on the payroll of the January 10th and who have continued to be employed since were assigned zero credits and zero cut off points.
What’s new?
The INTO has been told that the main problem has been fixed and any substitute staff being paid for the first time in 2019 on payrolls after the January 10th for primary and non-teaching staff, are not affected. For primary teachers impacted on the January 10th payroll, the cessation date has been removed by Revenue and the DES have advised us that the solution is being applied to the primary and non-teaching staff payrolls of the February 21st. However, the DES could not guarantee that all teachers affected would have the matter resolved.
As requested by the INTO, the DES have confirmed they have devoted all available technical resources to resolve the problem as a matter of urgency for those who were impacted. The Department has also confirmed that they have been working with Revenue to develop and implement a solution for those affected.
Who you can contact?
The DES has advised us that substitute teachers with queries on their salary payments should forward them to Primtch_payroll@education.gov.ie.
What is the INTO’s view?
We are absolutely not satisfied with the information provided by the DES. While we welcome the news that many teachers’ salaries will be corrected on February 21st, it is not acceptable that all teachers cannot be guaranteed that their salary will be corrected on that date. INTO will continue to press for the urgent resolution of this issue for all affected.