COVID-19 and EP

Updated 23/08/2021

Relief Teachers working in schools through ep.education
On 20th August, the Ministry of Education shared that there will be an emergency payment for relievers and other casual staff during the current Alert Level 4 lockdown. The date the emergency payment is expected to be made is 8 September 2021 (the next possible pay cycle). The Ministry have said that:

"This payment is not compensation for their anticipated earnings lost during the lockdown, but it will be proportionate as it will be based on the average hours they worked over the 90 school days preceding the Alert Level change.

The emergency payments will be made automatically to the following people:

• all current relief teachers and kairīwhi who are not receiving any scheduled wage payments from a state or state integrated school or kura.
• all non-teaching employees and kaimahi whose hours are loaded via timesheet and who are not receiving any scheduled wage payments or timesheet wage payments from a state or state integrated school or kura.

These employees and kaimahi must have worked and been paid at least once during the last 90 days (excluding the holidays) at a school and kura including wharekura, primary, intermediate, secondary, area, and special schools to be eligible for the payments."

You can read the full newsletter here, and further information about the emergency payments here.

If you would like some more information about the COVID-19 situation may be affecting you and/or your ability to work, please contact your local EP office for a chat with one of our Temporary Recruitment Consultants by calling 0508 TEACHER ext 1.

On 19 March 2020, it was announced that from 11.59PM that night, NZ borders are shut to everyone except NZ citizens and residents, with few exceptions. This announcement will affect some teachers who are due to arrive in NZ and begin a teaching role here. Please contact your EP recruiter for an update on your specific situation.

If your journey to New Zealand becomes more complicated as a result of COVID-19, please stay in touch with your EP recruiter or the EP Dream Jobs team.

We ran a webinar on Monday 30th March where we updated overseas teachers (not yet in NZ) who are wanting to teach in NZ on the current situation and answered many of their questions. This webinar was recorded and can be viewed here.

See our Returning Kiwis page for information specific to you.

Here are some resources we have collated, relating to the current situation:

• EP + COVID-19 (webinar by EP, aimed at overseas teachers wanting to teach in NZ)
• Support through COVID-19 & Beyond (webinar #1 by EP's temp team and aimed at relief teachers)
• Schools & Relief Teachers - FAQs (webinar #2 by EP's temp team and aimed at primary/secondary relief teachers)
• ECE Centres & Relief Teachers - FAQs (webinar #3 by EP's temp team and aimed at early childhood relief teachers)
• Teaching Online (webinar with Karen Tui Boyes)
• Teach From Home (resources collected by Google)
• Coronavirus and Early Childhood Education: What you Need to Know and Answers to Questions (NZ ECE specific information)
• Course: Hand Hygiene (free Ministry of Health course on infection prevention)
• COVID-19 Information for NZEI Te Riu Roa Members
• What can people do to protect themselves and others from getting the new coronavirus? (video from World Health Organisation)
• Calm (free resources to help with supporting mental and emotional wellness)
• Mindfulness Resources (more free resources to help with supporting wellness)
• Keeping Anxiety in Check Amidst Uncertainty (podcast from Radio NZ)
• Teaching Online (free webinar)
• What Kids Want to Know About Coronavirus (comic exploring the virus)
• How to Talk to Children About the Coronavirus (article with helpful tips)
• List of Education Companies offering Free Subscriptions (note this is a US website)