COVID-19 and EP

Updated 12/05/2020

The Ministry of Education have announced that they are "providing one-off funding to cover flu vaccinations between now and 30 June 2020 for the schooling and early learning centre education workforces."

The education workforce is defined as "any person employed or contracted as teaching, childcare staff, including specialist education professionals and others who provide support".

Schools and early learning services who normally provide vaccinations for their staff will be able to seek reimbursement for these costs from the Ministry of Education. If this does not apply to you, you can follow the steps on the MOE website to get a flu vaccination voucher: present this at one of the participating pharmacies and then the MOE will be invoiced directly for the cost of your vaccination.

Full details can be found here on the MOE website.

Pay for Relief Teachers

Early Childhood Teachers

A wage subsidy extension payment has been outlined to support employers who are significantly impacted by COVID-19. This extension will be available from the 10th of June until the 1st of September 2020, covering an 8 week period.

ep.education is intending to apply for the wage subsidy extension on behalf of all eligible and actively employed early childhood relievers. 

To be applicable to claim the wage subsidy extension payment, ep.education must have had, or expect to have, a revenue loss of at least 50% for the 30 days before we apply, compared to the closest period last year.

ep.education will not be able to confirm whether or not we can pay you the wage subsidy until after Monday the 15th of June. The earliest ep.education can make an application for the wage subsidy extension is Monday the 15th of June, following the last payment to you of the current 12-week wage subsidy cycle.  As previously, our application to Work & Income may take some time to approve.

If you are currently receiving weekly payments from ep.education, please follow the link here & complete this form by Wednesday the 2nd of June.

This will confirm your current employment status, your continued availability for work from Monday the 15th of June for 8 weeks & your intention for ep.education to continue to support you throughout the wage subsidy extension period. This will also allow you to let us know if your circumstances have changed.

Completion of this form by Wednesday the 2nd of June allows us to be prepared to make an application should we be able, on Monday the 15th of June.

What if I have joined ep.education throughout Level 3 & 4? 

If you have just joined the ep.education team, welcome! At the moment we are unsure if you will be eligible for the wage subsidy. We are hoping to be in a position to support new relief staff who have completed their first booking with ep.education since the 28th of April. We will not be able to confirm anything until the government supplies more information about who is eligible for the extension.

How will weekly wage subsidy payments be calculated during the wage subsidy extension period, should ep.education’s application be successful? 

If you are currently receiving weekly payments from ep.education throughout the first wage subsidy period, you will receive the same payment from Monday the 15th of June.

If you have joined ep.education through Level 3 & 4 we will advise of payments (if any) once we have further information from the government.

What happens if you work more hours than 100% of your average earnings, throughout the wage subsidy extension period? 

You will continue to be paid at or above 100% of your average earnings. Any pay for hours that you worked over and above 100% of your average earnings, will be added to your weekly pay.

Further questions?

Please reach out directly to your consultant if you have any questions or queries from the above. We will do our best to provide clarity whilst we are awaiting further guidance from the Government.

Pay for Relief Teachers During Closures

Primary & Secondary Schools 

Relief teachers in primary and secondary schools are paid by the Ministry of Education, not by ep.education.

• worked day relief hours (teachers) or variable hours paid by timesheet (non- teachers) for a state or state-integrated school or kura on at least one occasion during the 2020 school year; and
• since 18 May 2020 have had to turn down an offer by at least one school to work day relief hours (teachers) or variable hours paid by timesheet (non- teachers) because you or a dependant you care for is:
  • sick with COVID-19; or
  • required to self-isolate due to coming into close contact with someone who has COVID-19."

For full information and details on how to apply for this emergency payment, please see the MOE's website here.

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.

If you arrived back in NZ after 16 March 2020, please be aware that you are required to self-isolate for 14 days following your arrival into the country. For full information, please see the Ministry of Health guidelines regarding self isolation.

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)