Supporting EA Staff

We are all working in exceptional circumstances and many of our staff are working extended hours to keep our schools open for the children of key workers and vulnerable children, and to keep critical support services running.   Staff who are not in the workplace or working from home to support key workers and critical services are expected to be available for work and may be directed to support other work in the weeks ahead particularly in critical services. 

The safety, health and wellbeing of all of our staff is the Authority’s main priority and it is more important than ever that as far as possible staff who have planned or booked annual leave particularly over the Easter period take their leave so that they can rest, invest time in their health and well-being and re-energize.  School leaders and managers are asked to ensure that this is facilitated and that normal patterns of leave for staff continue as far as possible.

Staff who are not currently available for work because they have caring responsibilities, are expected as EA employees to maintain contact with their manager and be contactable during normal working hours; check emails daily if practically possible; keep up to date with staff communications and undertake such work tasks from home as they reasonably can. 

The safety, health and wellbeing of all of our staff is the Authority’s main priority and it is more important than ever that as far as possible staff including those with caring responsibilities who have planned or booked annual leave particularly over the Easter period take their leave so that they can rest, invest time in their health and well-being and re-energize.  School leaders and managers are asked to ensure that this is facilitated and that normal patterns of leave for staff continue as far as possible.

In exceptional cases, where staff are required to support schools opening for key workers and critical support services particularly over Easter, it may be necessary for school leaders/managers to ask staff to postpone their planned annual leave.
This does not mean leave should be postponed automatically but rather should only be the case in exceptional circumstances where operationally necessary.
Decisions to request postponement of leave should be based on the need to maintain critical services balanced with the need for staff to be provided appropriate rest during prolonged periods of working.

Yes.  In an open letter to the Education Sector dated 19 March 2020 the Education Minister, Peter Weir confirmed the following:

Salaries

"All employees will receive normal pay across the range of circumstances that we are facing whether they remain in the workplace, are working from home or are unable to carry on working due to circumstances beyond their control.  Substitute teachers and non-teaching staff (including temporary and fixed term employees) will also receive their normal pay for the period of time that they have been engaged to work.  Contingency arrangements are being put in place to ensure that the payrolls can be processed and payments made.”

Full letter available at:  https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/news/letter-minister-education-education-sector

Yes. Non-teaching staff (including temporary and fixed term employees) will receive their normal pay for the period of time that they have been engaged to work.  Contingency arrangements are being put in place to ensure that the payrolls can be processed and payments made.

Yes. All Extended School Staff will be paid for the time that they have been booked to work.

Agency workers will also receive their normal pay for the period of time that they have been engaged to work and early termination of agency workers is not anticipated, although it will be necessary to keep this under review.  We will need agency workers to be flexible at this time and this may include the need to divert them to other roles as we continue to work to maintain business critical services.

 If an employee normally works overtime each pay period then they will be paid for their contracted hours plus the overtime for the period they are not at work as a result of coronavirus. It is the responsibility of the line manager to ensure these hours are recorded on the timesheet accordingly.

NORTHERN IRELAND SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS’ REGISTER (NISTR)

NISTR is the online facility where schools book teachers on a substitute / temporary emergency cover basis

It is important to note that even though schools will be closed to pupils, they will remain open for staff so that they can access resource materials and make arrangements for remote learning as appropriate, to facilitate provision for vulnerable children and those of key workers, and be available to carry out other duties that Principals may require of them.

All employees will receive normal pay across the range of circumstances that we are facing whether they remain in the workplace, are working from home or are unable to carry on working due to circumstances beyond their control. Substitute teachers will also receive their normal pay for the period of time that they have been engaged to work.

All current NISTR bookings should be honoured.  There should be no early termination of NISTR bookings which were agreed and in place prior to the COVID-19 outbreak.  This includes any bookings currently registered on the NISTR system and any bookings which have been verbally agreed between the school and the substitute teacher.

You will still need to log on to the NISTR system to confirm and approve bookings in the usual way in order for your substitute teachers to be paid.  You should be able to access the NISTR system in school as normal, or if required you can log on to the NISTR system at any computer/location provided you have your normal log on details.  If you have any problems the NISTR Administration will be available to help on 028 9056 6256.

Please note the following additional guidance in relation to the operation of the booking system:

• School users are able to make bookings for NISTR up to 1 year in advance.
• The NISTR system does not have functionality for school users to sign the booking off in advance.  This can only be completed once the booking has been completed.  To assist with Teacher’s Pay Team contingency arrangements it is vital that approvals are actioned in a timely manner to ensure temporary teachers are paid on time.
• School users are able to sign into their NISTR account to complete the signing off of bookings remotely from any device.

Now that clear guidance has been provided in relation to the payment of NISTR teachers during the period of school closure arising from the COVID-19 outbreak, you should reinstate any bookings cancelled as a direct result of COVID-19 to ensure that bookings are honoured and substitute teachers are paid.

All employees will receive normal pay across the range of circumstances that we are facing whether they remain in the workplace, are working from home or are unable to carry on working due to circumstances beyond their control. Substitute teachers will also receive their normal pay for the period of time that they have been engaged to work.

All current NISTR bookings should be honoured.  There should be no early termination of NISTR bookings which were agreed and in place prior to the COVID-19 outbreak.  This includes any bookings currently registered on the NISTR system and any bookings which have been verbally agreed between the school and the substitute teacher.

Yes. EA will honour any commitments made and schools should not cancel the booking of a sub teacher.

Yes. EA will honour any commitments made.

Staff currently within their probationary period are likely to fall within one of two categories:

1. A member of staff is able to demonstrate the required standards during their probationary period aligned to the normal expectations of their substantive role,  whether working at home or within the workplace, or has already done so to a large extent that satisfies the Line Manager.  These staff should continue to progress as normal through their probationary period and be notified of the outcome.  No exceptional action is required by the Manager.

2. A member of staff is, in the Line Manager's opinion, prevented from demonstrating the required standards aligned to the normal expectations of their substantive role due to special factors relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Line Manager should pause the probationary period

Line managers should follow these guidelines:

• The probation period is "paused" from a date that is reasonable in the circumstances;

• The remaining period of probation should resume as soon as reasonably practicable and the duration of the "pause" should not be any longer than is necessary;  

• In some cases it may be practicable that the remaining period of probation is resumed whilst the staff member is working from home, although in other cases, it will not be feasible until there is a resumption of normal working arrangements;

• Staff should be advised that the "pause" is due to the impact that the factors pertaining to the Covid-19 pandemic has had on their individual work circumstances; and

• Such arrangements are to be confirmed in writing with the member of staff, ideally following an informal discussion with their Line Manager. See below for a letter template, to be edited as appropriate.

Job advertisements were initially paused in late March at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.  Job advertising will recommence from around the middle of May.
This will initially be on a prioritised basis with a focus on teaching, school and corporate leadership posts, posts linked to Special Educational Needs and other critical services.

All other posts will be progressed as and when business continuity arrangements permit. 

If you have not already done so, we recommend that you create a profile on the on-line recruitment system and register for job alerts so that you are notified as soon as jobs which meet your requirements are advertised. 

The vast majority of all job applications are made online. If you have submitted an on-line application we will be in touch via email as soon as an update is available.

If you have made a manual application with no email address we will contact you by post or telephone.

The vast majority of recruitment activity is being completed remotely at this time.
It’s likely that recruitment exercises may take longer than normal to complete.

Your patience and understanding is appreciated.  We will be in touch as soon as any update is available.

As many of the posts to which we recruit are key worker roles for critical services across the education sector, you may be asked to physically attend for interview.
Government advice on social distancing, as current at the time, will be adhered to.

Should COVID-19 prevent you from physically attending a scheduled interview please contact us so that your specific requirements can be considered in more detail. 

It is possible that in the short to medium term some interviews may happen remotely, either by telephone or video-conference.

When we are in touch to schedule your interview we will provide you with full details and guidance on how the remote interview process will work.

If you are fit for interview, we will work with you to try to arrange remote interview attendance. When we are in touch we will provide you with full details and guidance on the interview process.

If you are not fit to attend for interview, as far as reasonably practicable we will arrange for you to be provided with an alternative interview date.

As long as you are fit, you should report for interview on the revised date.

Should COVID-19 prevent you from attending a scheduled face to face interview please contact us so that your specific requirements can be considered in more detail. 

Please be assured that we will adhere to Government advice, as current at the time, regarding social distancing.

Social distancing arrangements will be observed from how you will be greeted when you report for interview, in the size and layout of the interview room itself and in the cleaning of the interview facility.

If you have any specific concerns, please advise us in advance of your interview date.

Our recruitment processes have been suspended for several weeks following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are now working with Schools and EA Services to prioritise some of these recruitment exercises, particularly in respect of school leadership, teaching, Special Educational Needs and other critical service areas. 

Please be patient whilst we work through this processing. We will contact you with an update as soon as possible.

You may have been due to attend for interview and this has been cancelled.

We will now be seeking to take forward interviews in respect of some critical roles. If a face to face interview is required we will be observing all social distancing guidance.

This may alternatively take the form of a telephone or video-conference interview and if this is the case you will be provided with details in your invitation to interview.

We are currently working with schools and line managers to progress offers of employment.

Where start dates had already been agreed between the line manager and the candidate, we are working to honour these commitments by progressing pre-employment checks and the issue of contracts. 

Where a start date had not yet been agreed in relation to a conditional offer of employment, it is possible that some of these may need to be deferred.

Please be assured that we will keep you up to date in relation to your appointment.

Given the evolving situation and the rate at which staff and managers are now home-working, you are advised to contact us in advance to check on reporting arrangements. 

You should only report for work on your first day if you are symptom-free and fit for work.

If there is any change in your health or circumstances prior to your given start date which means you are not able to report as agreed, then you should contact us as soon as possible to update us.

Your new contract of employment will commence from the start date agreed with your new line manager and that included within your new contract.

We continue to value your interest in the Education Authority and your co-operation and patience at this time is much appreciated.

All schools and pre-school education settings are being asked to work together to deliver this service.  This may include the attendance of staff at a setting other than their own or the attendance of children at a setting other than their normal setting.

If a school leader concludes that the school cannot operate safely, either because there will not be sufficient staff, or too many children are seeking to attend, the school should consider the following options (EA local School Development Service officers are available to assist):

• Contacting neighbouring settings to identify whether staff can be shared;
• Contact EA to identify other public sector workers, with the requisite security clearances, who may be able to assist;
• Identifying whether neighbouring settings can accommodate additional children;
• Limiting the number of children who can attend and prioritising children of health and social care staff in the first instance.

Yes, the school can accept volunteers.  If required, public sector workers can and will be redeployed to support teaching staff.  The school must ensure the suitability of all persons looking after children and that appropriate supervision is in place as part of its safeguarding responsibilities for children attending school.

23.5 hours post primary, 25 hours primary, a payback arrangement would be provided by the school to reduce class contact following the return to normal arrangements.  Does this still stand?

COVID-19 school closures will mean fewer children attending school to be looked after.  Schools will want to plan their staffing levels accordingly and use a rota system to limit class contact to minimise the risk of individual exposure to the coronavirus.  If a teacher has been required to work longer than the contractual 23.5 hours post primary, 25 hours primary, schools should put in place arrangements to allow their class contact time to be reduced following the return to normal arrangements.

Where schools wish to work together to create a localised cluster arrangement, ie whereby certain schools in a close geographical area wish to agree collectively to have a ‘hub’ school to service all children within the area, this is permissible where it is sensible to do so and the daily data capture will continue to collect information around local arrangements.  Officers from the Education Authority’s School Development Service will support schools locally who wish to engage in a collaborative arrangement. 

All staff, where possible and able, should work from home.  We know that many of you cannot do the important job that you do from home, or do not have remote access to work from home. Furthermore many of you will now have additional caring responsibilities that mean you will be unable to work. 

All staff will continued to be paid normal pay, regardless of the circumstances.

You should:

• Share a mobile/contact number with your line manager and be contactable during normal working hours
• Check emails daily if practically possible - you can access your email from home via https://webmail.eani.org.uk 
• Undertake such work tasks / functions from home as you reasonably  can
• Divert your desktop phone to your mobile if you can
• Notify your line manager if you have a confirmed case of Coronavirus or are required to self-isolate

Remember that the services of Inspire Wellbeing remain available to you and can be contacted free on 0808 800 0002, 24hrs a day 7 days a week.

Coronavirus Symptoms are:

• Fever of 37.8 and above and/ or
• Recent onset of a continuous cough

If you have either of these symptoms you should seek PHA and/or medical advice.

• If an employee or a member of their household is displaying symptoms of coronavirus they must self-isolate and follow PHA advice for their recovery. Employees in this situation should refrain from attending work for a minimum of 14 days* and follow medical advice (available via telephone from your GP or NHS 111).  Any COVID-19 absences will be excluded from any calculation of contractual sick pay.  The employee will receive normal pay.  There will therefore be no impact on absence trigger points or contractual sick pay.
• An employee must not return to work for 14 days* or until their symptoms have gone (whichever is later). If an employee’s symptoms are continuing after 14 days* they should seek advice from their GP or NHS 111 before returning to work.
• The employee must keep their Principal/Line manager informed throughout this period.

*Staff living alone would only be required to refrain from work for 7 days or until their symptoms have gone (whichever is later).

The normal managing attendance procedure will be upheld.

Where Principal/ Line Managers are concerned about the support arrangements in place for those returning they should contact HR on 028 9041 8023.

In most cases some or all of these supportive measures will be required prior to safeguard a return. 

• Appropriate notice and supportive dialogue with management to ensure a smooth transition back to work.
• Statement of Fitness for Work completed to sign them off as now fully fit to be at work
• An OH referral if concerns around support are still present (telephone/ virtual).

Yes unless instructed otherwise.

At present schools are only closed for pupils from Monday 23 March 2020.  Principals have been asked to ensure significant social distancing arrangements are in place within schools.

If an employee has any concerns regarding their attendance at work they should discuss this with their Principal/Line Manager.

If you are not in the workplace you are reminded that as an EA employee you are expected to be available for work and you may be reasonably directed to support the work of your, or another,  team particularly critical services assuming you do not fall into one of the ‘at risk’ categories identified by PHA.  

You should:

• Share a mobile/contact number with your line manager and be contactable during normal working hours
• Check emails daily if practically possible - you can access your email from home via https://webmail.eani.org.uk 
• Undertake such work tasks / functions from home as you reasonably  can
• Divert your desktop phone to your mobile if you can
• Notify your line manager if you have a confirmed case of Coronavirus or are required to self-isolate

If an employee requests to change an arrangement agreed under the family friendly flexible working scheme for a 10 month or 11 month contract from 1 April 2020- 31 March 2021 and to take one or two months unpaid leave over the July/August period, each request should be considered individually in the context of business requirements.  Requests to change or cancel flexible working arrangements should only be agreed where there is a requirement for the employee to support business critical work during that period. 

In some instances it may also be necessary for a manager to request and seek agreement with an employee to change a family friendly flexible working arrangement where the employee is required to support business critical work.  Managers must take into consideration an employee’s individual circumstances. 

Requests from employees making a statutory flexible working request should be considered in line with normal arrangements.

We are all working in exceptional circumstances and many of our staff are working extended hours to keep our schools open for the children of key workers and vulnerable children, and to keep critical support services running. Staff who are not in the workplace or working from home to support key workers and critical services are expected to be available for work and may be directed to support other work in the weeks ahead particularly in critical services.   

The safety, health and wellbeing of all of our staff is the Authority’s main priority and it is more important than ever that as far as possible staff who have planned or booked annual leave particularly over the Easter period take their leave so that they can rest, invest time in their health and well-being and re-energize. School leaders and managers are asked to ensure that this is facilitated and that normal patterns of leave for staff continue as far as possible.

Staff who are not currently available for work because they have caring responsibilities, are expected as EA employees to maintain contact with their manager and be contactable during normal working hours; check emails daily if practically possible; keep up to date with staff communications and undertake such work tasks from home as they reasonably can. 

The safety, health and wellbeing of all of our staff is the Authority’s main priority and it is more important than ever that as far as possible staff including those with caring responsibilities who have planned or booked annual leave particularly over the Easter period take their leave so that they can rest, invest time in their health and well-being and re-energize.  School leaders and managers are asked to ensure that this is facilitated and that normal patterns of leave for staff continue as far as possible.

In exceptional cases, where staff are required to support schools opening for key workers and critical support services particularly over Easter, it may be necessary for school leaders/managers to ask staff to postpone their planned annual leave. This does not mean leave should be postponed automatically but rather should only be the case in exceptional circumstances where operationally necessary.  Decisions to request postponement of leave should be based on the need to maintain critical services balanced with the need for staff to be provided appropriate rest during prolonged periods of working.

We recognise that long periods of reduced social contact and a less active lifestyle can have an adverse impact on an individual’s mental health and physical health. Below represents some of the key support mechanisms EA has in place. 

Inspire Wellbeing

Our main Employee Assistance Provider (EAP) is Inspire Wellbeing. EA staff have free 24/7 access to confidential and independent counselling support service.

Inspire is the leading provider of workplace wellbeing solutions, delivering mental health and wellbeing support to some of the UK and Ireland’s leading private, public and third sector organisations.

The number for staff to call for support is 0808 800 0002.

EA Health Well

To support you and best ensure your accessibility to important information and advice during this challenging time, EA has made the decision to fast-track the launch of its all staff Health and Wellbeing digital Hub – Branded EA Health Well. 

What is EA Health Well

• a digital solution developed to support the themes of EA’s first Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2019-22. The solution will improve accessibility for staff to key health and wellbeing information and initiatives.
• an interactive website which provides EA employees with support, education and information on a wide range of topics as a way of improving their overall health and wellbeing.
• a solution which in time will complimented by a programme of activities and events organised through Workplace Champions.

A network of Health and Wellbeing Champions has being created and will be developed and supported so that individuals can get involved in driving wellbeing forward for themselves and their colleagues.

You can access the EA Health Well via the below link

https://healthwell.eani.org.uk/

If viewing on a PC we recommend using Google Chrome.

Initial Focus

Supporting “Healthy Minds and Bodies” of all staff during these unpresented changes in lifestyles and need for reduced social contact will be the initial focus. However this internet based solution will provide a greater breath of support as we move forward linked to the themes of the EA Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2019-22 and the changing needs of our people.

EA’s Acting-up Policy for Support Staff has been adapted to provide guidance on acting-up arrangements for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Acting-up should not be the first solution considered by Line Managers where temporary cover is required, as job descriptions provide reasonable flexibility to assign additional duties and responsibilities.  Line Managers may first wish to give consideration to ways in which work may be re-organised on a temporary basis.  If the requirement for cover is reasonably expected to last 4 weeks or more an acting-up appointment should be considered. 

The Acting-up Framework developed for use throughout the COVID-19 pandemic sets out the available options for acting-up and the principles for selecting staff for the acting-up opportunity.  These are set in the context of ensuring effective business continuity at a time when normal recruitment and trawl activities are restricted. 

The higher salary associated with the acting-up will be paid with effect from the first day on which a member of staff was required to undertake acting-up duties.  The normal 4 week qualifying period will not apply in respect of COVID-19 related acting appointments.

Where requests for additional staff are received, the sequential approach EA will take to identifying available workforce to support these schools will be as follows:

1. Teaching and non-teaching staff from individual schools
2. Wider community of teaching and non-teaching staff from other schools to assist in clusters / hubs
3. EA Staff to be redeployed with a focus on:

- Classroom Assistants
- Behavioural Support staff from EOTAs Centres
- Officers with teaching qualifications (mainly Edu/CYPS)
- Cleaning/Catering/Caretaking staff – Ops and Estates
- Other appropriately vetted/checked staff

4. NI Substitute Teacher Register
5. List of additional Volunteers being compiled by DE.  This list will only be used in the event that the other options above have been exhausted.

Teachers

Teachers who provide cover over the Easter holidays will be paid for additional hours worked in line with their terms and conditions of employment e.g. if a teacher is contracted to work 2 days per week and they work an additional day, they will be paid for the additional day. 

If a teacher was due to be off during the Easter Holiday period and they work, they will be paid for the hours that they work during the Easter holiday period.

Support Staff

In line with NJC terms and conditions of employment, support staff who are required to work on the statutory holidays will receive an enhanced payment for these days, namely double time and a day in lieu.  Staff who work any other days over the Easter holidays will receive normal pay for hours worked (single time).  This includes staff who are on arrangements such as term-time.  Where staff had annual leave booked for the Easter period and this has been cancelled due to a requirement to provide support, they will be permitted to take these days at a later stage. 

Staff who are redeployed to another school / hub will be eligible to claim excess mileage, in line with the agreed mileage circular JNC No 187.

The list of volunteers is administered by DE.  In accordance with the agreed sequential approach to identifying available workforce, the DE volunteer list will only be used in the event that all other steps have been exhausted.  The list being compiled following Michele Corkey’s letter of 07 April is held by the EA School Development Service.  This list will be used in the first instance to provide required additional staffing to schools and hubs. Staff who are available and willing to be redeployed to help provide support over the Easter holiday period and beyond should complete the form to register an interest by clicking on this link
https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=-yeCOETeDkaBkAVAK4mNqN5d_9N4BoVBq1iaUR9JMrFUM1NDN1FWOE5EOVZINlhJQ09LMThMTktKQy4u

As COVID -19 continues to affect us all, the EA is taking all possible actions to protect staff, whilst continuing to deliver critical services for our children and young people.  A priority has been placed on critical services outlined in EA communications on www.eani.org.uk/staff and implementing important measures, in line with government guidance in relation to social distancing.

As a consequence of this, the progression of employee relations and business partnering work will be scaled back but kept under review in line with the above.  However, in order to avoid a significant back log of work when restrictions are lifted, where resource is available and it is possible to progress cases in accordance with agreed procedures this work can continue.

If there is a pressing employee relations or business partnering matter, advice can be obtained from: