Weather events

When schools and kura are closed due to serious weather events, such as flooding, all employees – including teachers, principals, teacher aides and non-teaching staff – should continue to be paid as normal. Their hours of work/weeks of work in line with their employment agreement continue to apply.

This includes day to day relievers and non-teaching casual staff who were booked in or otherwise engaged on the day(s) the school is closed. Where schools have moved to online learning, all staff should continue to be paid as normal, regardless of whether they can be engaged in online duties.

Where it is deemed safe, some non-teaching staff such as caretakers, cleaners or ground staff may be required onsite to perform duties that involve assisting with preparing the school to be ready for the return of students. Where this happens, these staff should continue to be paid as normal for the hours they work (in line with their relevant employment agreement) and for any additional hours.

Non-teaching staff who are not able to perform their work online should continue to be paid as usual. Their hours of work/weeks of work in line with their employment agreement continue to apply.

If a school is open with online learning, but some staff are unable to work online due to dealing with damage in their homes and/or responsibilities in caring for their whanau, the Ministry of Education encourages you to accommodate these staff through providing discretionary paid leave.