Payment Dates
ETBs - monthly or fortnightly.
Community & Comprehensive Schools - fortnightly.
Institutes of Technology/Technological Universities - the last banking day of each month.
Increments
In the case of teaching appointments to permanent, temporary and eligible part-time posts in all schools from the commencement of the 1996/97 school session onwards, the first increment of salary shall become payable to fully qualified teachers on the completion of one year’s satisfactory service from the date of taking up appointment. In community and comprehensive schools, the first increment is payable on the anniversary date of taking up duty. In the case of ETB teachers appointed prior to the 1996/97 session, increments are payable after one year’s satisfactory service from 1st October, 1st January, 1st April or 1st July which follows the date of taking up duty. This is then the date that decides the increment in succeeding years. If the appointment was taken up before the end of October, the incremental date is October 1st. In Institutes of Technology/Technological Universities increments are payable after one year’s service from 1st October, 1st January, 1st April or 1st July which follows the date of taking up duty. Appointments in October have the 1st October date.
Progress up the incremental scale depends on a teacher/lecturer being fully qualified and, in the case of teachers, registered with the Teaching Council.
Under the Haddington Road Agreement, there were a number of incremental pauses, the length of which depended on salary level.
Long Service Allowances
A long service allowance is payable to teachers who have been on the maximum of the common basic scale for at least ten years. As this is an allowance rather than an increment, a teacher must be in receipt of it for three years for it to be fully pensionable. If a teacher is in receipt of the allowance for less than three years, it will apply to pension on a pro-rata basis.
Length of training increments
Prior to January 1st 2011, whole-time teachers and, with effect from 1st September 2001, pro rata contract holders with two years’ full-time training entered the salary scale at the first or minimum point of the scale. Whole-time teachers and pro rata contract holders with three years’ full-time training entered the scale at the second point. Whole-time teachers and pro rata contract holders with four years’ or more full-time training entered the scale at the third point.
In addition, in 2000, under Agreed Report 10/2000, it was agreed to grant incremental credit for:
- all teaching service given in recognised equivalent schools/colleges in the European Union.
- whole-time teaching service in private primary level schools and third level colleges with effect from 1st September 2000.
- relevant non-teaching service and teaching service abroad to pro rata contract holders on the same basis as full time teachers with effect from 1st September 2000.
As a result of a budgetary measure, those first appointed on or after 1st January 2011 start on the first point of the applicable salary scale. The Union is seeking reinstatement of length of training increments for these members.
Aggregation of Part Time Service for Incremental Purposes
One of the deficiencies that had been associated with part-time teaching was the inability to aggregate part-time teaching hours over a number of years to secure an increment. It is now the case that a teacher who has a contract throughout the year (i.e. PRPT) will get an increment irrespective of the number of hours taught. In addition:
- Written fixed-term contracts of 150 hours or more will be aggregated, and carried forward from year to year, towards reaching a threshold of 600 hours = one increment. Hours in excess of 600 cannot be carried into the next year or aggregated.
- Members who were not given written contracts are not necessarily disadvantaged: if the circumstances of their work since 2001 were such that it would now qualify the teacher for a fixed-term contract, they will have their 150-hour fixed-term work aggregated.
- Each 300 casual and non-casual part-time hours can be aggregated and may be carried forward into a succeeding year for the purposes of aggregation.
- 150-hour fixed-term contracts and 300-hour casual and non-casual periods of employment will be aggregated together.
Full details are set out in Circular Letter 29/2007.
In respect of claims for incremental credit, it is essential that full documentation is provided to the employer by the claimant with regard to qualifications held (including details regarding title and date of award, awarding institution etc.) and the nature (duration etc.) of previous service.