Effective September 1, 2022, Bill 85 amended the Education Act by adding a requirement to have updated criminal records and vulnerable sector checks. Section 2(7) of Bill 85 amended the Education Act by adding section 229.1, Criminal Record and Vulnerable Sector Checks. Bill 85 applies to those whose employment requires a certificate of qualification as a teacher, a leadership certificate or a superintendent leadership certificate. The legislation requires that the checks be completed by January 1, 2024 and must be updated every five years.
All school divisions must enforce the legislation and are required to ensure the results of those checks demonstrate that the teacher continues to be suitable for employment in their position. Failure to provide the necessary checks by the deadline imposed by the legislation, without some clear and demonstrable proof of the steps taken to obtain them, may result in a member encountering significant issues related to their employment relationship with their division. Teachers must comply with the legislation by providing the checks, even if their division has not offered a method or system to address the requirements. Teachers do not have to incur the cost of the five-year criminal record check. Many divisions have worked with local law enforcement detachments to provide opportunities for members to obtain the checks. However, teachers who cannot provide the checks due to loss of the documents or failure to pick up or download them by the issuing agency’s deadline or starting new employment will be responsible for the cost of the initial check or its reissuance. If you have a criminal conviction (or charge, subject to the terms of your employment contract) and failed to report this to your division, you should seek the advice of Teacher Employment Services (1-800-232-7208). In this situation, most members would benefit from proactively addressing the issue with their division rather than waiting until their updated criminal record and vulnerable sector check is submitted. WORTH SHARING The deadline of January 1, 2024, is fast approaching for compliance with the Education Act to provide updated criminal and vulnerable sector checks. Teachers need to provide the checks to their division by the deadline to avoid potential issues. Contact Teacher Employment Services for more assistance. #WEAREATA Teachers received a two per cent (2%) increase on September 1, 2023.
A teacher’s annual salary is based on years of education (as determined by the Teacher Qualifications Service) and years of experience (as determined by the teacher’s collective agreement). Click here to see your salary grid. Teachers are paid according to the Education Act, which states that teachers are paid 1/200 for each day they work (with a few variations). Since funds are allocated to school divisions over 12 months, paying teachers 1/12 of their annual salary each month from September to August is easier for everyone to budget, including school divisions. Due to the improvements to the salary grid, teachers must review their September pay statements to be certain that their pay has been adjusted correctly. Teachers should continue to review their pay statements at the end of every month, particularly if they are still moving up the salary grid and are expecting to earn an increment. If a teacher reviews their pay statement and it appears that they have not been paid correctly, it is their responsibility to contact their employer to resolve the discrepancy. If the teacher is not able to correct the error with the employer forthwith, the teacher must contact Teacher Employment Services (TES) so that the Association can provide support in a resolution. Delays in reporting an error in pay could result in a loss of income, so it is critical that every teacher closely scrutinize their pay statement. 1. For full-time contract teachers, the simplest way to check for an error is to multiply the amount listed on the pay statement as gross pay or total earnings by 12 and then compare that sum to the salary grid in the collective agreement. 2. For part-time teachers, confirm annual salary on the grid in the collective agreement, multiply that sum by the teacher's FTE (for example, 0.50 or 0.86 or 0.25) and divide by 12. This sum should be the gross pay or total earnings figure on the pay statement 3. For teachers in receipt of an allowance, the simplest way to check for an error is to multiply the amount listed on the pay statement as gross pay or total earnings by 12, subtract the annual allowance and compare that sum to the salary grid in the collective agreement. It is also important to review the deductions to confirm they are correct. Maximum annual employee premiums for the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and employment insurance (EI) are reached partway through the year. Teachers often see an increase in net pay once those maximums are reached and are no longer deducted from monthly cheques. WORTH SHARING Check your pay statement every month to ensure that your salary is correct. Review the deductions and make sure they are correct. Remember, you may reach maximum deductions for the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and employment insurance (EI) partway through the year. #WEAREATA Are you considering retiring in the next 10 years? It’s a good idea to get your ducks in a row well in advance.
Attend an Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) online Pre-Retirement Workshop to start planning early. These sessions are helpful if you know your retirement date, but even if you don’t, you need to understand the retirement process, when you need to start filling out applications and how much money you will have during your retirement. Lifestyle planning is also important. Will you travel? Will you participate in other retirement pastimes (such as golf, lawn bowling or pickleball)? You should have some insight into what lifestyle you would like to have when you stop teaching and how much that will cost. This workshop will answer all your questions. Together, teachers and their pension partner will explore planning for retirement, the changing character of retirement and the process of making important decisions. You will learn about financial and lifestyle planning before, during and after retirement from a teacher’s perspective. The workshop will investigate various aspects of retiring, including building a financial plan, the Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund (pension plan), wills and estates, benefits, and lifestyle planning for a successful and rewarding retirement. Choose one of the sessions below and watch for a link to register at https://teachers.ab.ca/events. Registration will be available approximately one month before each session. Note that these are all-day sessions (9:00 am–3:00 pm). Teachers in All Regions Saturday, November 25, 2023 Saturday, February 3, 2024 Saturday, March 9, 2024 Urban Local Teachers Edmonton Public Teachers only—Saturday, October 28, 2023 Calgary Catholic Teachers only—Saturday, December 2, 2023 Edmonton Catholic Teachers only—Saturday, January 13, 2024 Calgary Public Teachers only—Saturday, January 27, 2024 WORTH SHARING It’s your retirement. Ensure a smooth transition by becoming informed early. Attend a Pre-Retirement Workshop this school year. #WEAREATA The Alberta School Employee Benefit Plan (ASEBP) provides covered members with health and limited dental coverage for emergency expenses when they are travelling outside Canada. More information can be found at Travel Emergencies on the ASEBP website. Covered members can purchase additional top-up emergency medical coverage with Alberta Blue Cross if they are extending their trip beyond ASEBP’s approved travel durations.
ASEBP will make the following changes to emergency travel benefits effective January 1, 2024:
ASEBP-covered members can also purchase the following coverage from Alberta Blue Cross at a 10 per cent discount beginning September 1, 2023. Trip cancellation or interruption coverage will reimburse you for eligible nonrefundable expenses incurred if you or your travelling companion must cancel or interrupt the trip. Baggage loss coverage will help cover the cost to replace your personal items if your baggage is delayed for more than 12 hours, lost, stolen or damaged. Note: This insurance is an independent product offered through Alberta Blue Cross and must be purchased prior to the trip. WORTH SHARING If you are travelling within or outside Canada, it is important to consider your travel insurance options. For more information about ASEBP benefits, call 1-877-431-4786. For more information about Alberta Blue Cross travel insurance options, call 1-800-394-1965. #WEAREATA Summer Pay—It’s Not So Simple!
A teacher’s annual salary is based on years of experience (found in the collective agreement) and years of education (as determined by Teacher Qualifications Service). Teachers are paid according to the Education Act, which states that teachers are paid 1/200 of their annual salary for each day they work (with a few variations). Teachers are not paid for vacation periods such as Christmas, spring break, Thanksgiving, over the summer or any other holiday period. School division calendars determine which days teachers are expected to work. These are the days for which teachers are paid. Since funds are allocated to school divisions over 12 months, paying teachers 1/12 of the annual salary each month from September to August is easier for everyone, including school divisions, to budget. This means that each month some earnings are saved to be paid in July and August. This formula does not work for teachers who work less than a full year or who are not on a continuous contract. These teachers must use a different formula to calculate their pay. The payment of salaries is addressed in Section 220 of the Education Act. If a teacher’s contract is temporary or probationary, or if the teacher resigns on June 30, the summer payout must be paid within seven days of the termination date of the contract. Regardless of the type of contract, teachers who work less than a full school year will have a reduced amount of pay for July and August. At the end of June or the end of the teacher’s contract, the division will perform a final salary reconciliation to determine the summer payout. A rough guide is that one semester, or half a year, of work equals one month of summer pay. This includes paid leave, such as sick days, personal leave days and division-paid maternity leave. For teachers who are under a contract of employment for a period that includes all the teaching days of a school year but that do not teach on all those teaching days, teachers will be paid their full annual salary less 0.5 per cent (1/200) of the salary for each teaching day on which they do not teach. This applies if the teacher has worked more than 100 days in the school year. This calculation ensures that teachers are not disadvantaged if the school year is less than 200 days. For example, if the school year is 197 days and a teacher takes an unpaid leave for 4 days, their pay calculation would be as follows: $75,000 − ($75,000 × 1/200 × 4 days) = $73,500 A teacher who is under a contract of employment for a period that does not include all the teaching days of the school year, or is under a contract of employment that includes all the teaching days of a school year, but who during that year teaches on fewer than 100 teaching days, shall be paid 0.5 per cent (1/200) of the teacher’s annual salary for each day on which the teacher teaches. For example, Chris was hired to work from February 5 to June 26. During that time, there were 94 days worked. Chris used 3 days of sick leave but had enough banked sick leave to be paid for the 94 days. Annual salary × 1/200 × number of days worked = earned income $75,000 × 1/200 × 94 = $35,250 From February to June, Chris was paid 1/12 per month: ($75,000/12) × 5 months = $31,250 (paid to date) Chris’s summer payout will then be calculated as follows: Earned income − paid to date = summer payout Therefore, Chris will receive $35,250 − $31,250 = $4,000 as the reconciled payout for the summer. What about a teacher who is on maternity leave? Pat had a baby on February 1 and started her maternity leave that day. As she has a health-related supplemental employment benefits (SEB) plan, which only paid her six weeks of top-up, her fully paid maternity leave ran out on March 13. The employer paid one week of full pay and then topped up the other five weeks of her employment insurance (EI). Pat received the maximum from EI, $650 per week. She is on a continuous contract and has been paid for more than 100 days, so the following formula applies: Annual salary − (annual salary × 1/200 × number of days not worked) = earned income $75,000 − ($75,000 × 1/200 × 64 days) = $51,000 From September to January, Pat was paid 1/12 per month: ($75,000/12) × 5 months = $31,250 = $31,250 pay to January 31 In February and March, Pat received one week of full pay at $1,562.50, then five weeks of pay minus the $650 from EI. $1,562.50 + [ ($1,562.50 − $650) × 5 ] = $6,125 pay to March 13 Pat’s summer payout will be calculated as follows: Earned income − paid to date Therefore, Pat will receive $51,000 − $37,375 = $13,625 as the reconciled payout. Pat’s employer is required to pay out all withheld pay within seven days after March 13. From March 13 through the summer, Pat will collect only her EI payments. Important Reminders Teachers are advised to check their pay information every month. At the beginning of each school year, confirm that education and experience are accurate and that annual salary is correct (check the collective agreement). Review the deductions and ensure they are correct. Every subsequent month, review any changes to net pay. Do not forget that there will be an increase in net pay in the latter half of the calendar year as teachers reach maximum annual deductions for the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Employment Insurance (EI). This also means that teachers will see a reduction in pay in January as CPP and EI are deducted from salary again. WORTH SHARING Check your pay statement every month to ensure that your salary and deductions are correct. Pay is not simple and it is individual to each teacher. Review it! #WEAREATA |
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Updates from ATA ProvincialArchives
May 2024
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