Casual/Non-Casual Substitute Teachers
There are two different types of substitute teacher:
- Casual Substitute: In general where a substitute has worked fewer than 40 days in the school year, they are classified as a casual substitute. However, this is not always the case – see below.
- Non-Casual Substitute: To be classified as a non-casual substitute, a teacher must work 40 days at the casual rate and on the Day 41, they will move to their own personal/incremental rate and become a non-casual substitute. A teacher will also be classified as a non-casual substitute if they take up a non-casual contract e.g. a maternity/adoptive leave cover. In this case, the teacher will be paid at their own personal/incremental rate from Day 1 of their contract.
Daily Rates of Pay for Casual Substitute Teachers
Casual substitute teachers are paid a fixed rate for their first 40 days of employment in an academic year in a substitute capacity.
See below for applicable daily qualified substitute rates taken from Circular 0073/2024 (PDF) which are effective from 1 October 2024.
| Pay Scale | Daily rate | Value of Statutory Annual Leave Accumulated per Day Worked | Total Value of a day’s work as a substitute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-1 January 2011 Entrants to Primary Teaching | €223.18 | €27.58 | €250.76 |
| Primary Teachers who entered teaching on or after 1 January 2011* | €216.79 | €26.79 | €243.58 |
How to calculate a Non-Casual Substitute Teacher’s Personal Rate
When a teacher works more than 40 days in a school year or is engaged in a non-casual contract, they will be paid their own personal rate which is calculated based on their point on the incremental scale and any allowances payable.
How to calculate a substitute teacher’s personal rate:
(Point on the incremental scale + any allowance) divided by 182, with a deduction of 11% of this rate to be banked as holiday pay.
Example
If a teacher is being paid at point 5 of the post-January 2011 scale, the calculation would be as follows:
Point 5 on the post-January 2011 scale = €48,995
Total Value of Personal Rate = €48,995/182 = €269.20
Daily Rate = €239.59
11% Holiday Pay = €29.61
In the teacher’s fortnightly pay cheque, they will see the daily rate paid. The substitute teacher will then receive their 11% holiday pay for each day worked in a lump sum payment at the end of each term.
Refer to Circular 0015/2015 (PDF) for more information regarding holiday pay.
Payment for a Non-Casual Substitute Teachers Leave of Absence
A non-casual substitute teacher is regarded as a fixed term worker for the purposes of the Protection of Employees (Fixed Term Work) Act 2003. As such, they are entitled to the same terms and conditions as a comparable permanent colleague, including access to leave entitlements. This entitlement comes to an end at the end of the teacher’s contract.
However, as two substitute teachers may not be paid for the same role through the OLCS, the non-casual substitute who is taking substitutable leave must be paid using the Primary Teachers Substitute for a Substitute form.
The substitute who is covering the vacancy (i.e., the teacher who is working in the school during the absence) should be paid through the OLCS.
If there is no substitute teacher employed to cover the leave, then the non-casual substitute teacher can be left on the OLCS for salary, with a manual record of their absence maintained by the school.
Page updated 11 October 2024
