Government fixes payroll error

Some substitute teachers thought they had more deductions than net pay

The provincial government says it has addressed a payroll error that affected some substitute teachers.

The Human Resource Secretariat, which took over responsibility for teachers' payroll in Newfoundland and Labrador earlier this year from the Department of Education, noted in a statement to The Telegram that on Oct. 3, some substitute teachers received only a partial payment on their scheduled payday.

According to a spokesperson for the Human Resource Secretariat, this was an isolated incident caused by a technical issue and was immediately corrected, with all affected teachers properly paid by noon the next day.

However, when the pay cycle resumed for Oct. 17, some substitute teachers noticed the deductions listed equalled, or in some cases exceeded, their net pay. The Human Resource Secretariat spokesperson clarified the situation: "To accomplish this, payroll completed an ad hoc payment (Oct. 4) which included all necessary deductions. However, because this was not part of the normal pay cycle, no pay stub was issued at that time. This payment was provided to ensure that these teachers received their outstanding pay in a timely manner.

"On the normal pay cycle for October 17, 2019, substitute teachers will have received their pay for September 23 to October 4. However the pay stub for that period will also have included the information for the week that was missed (September 16 to September 20). It is important to note that while the pay stub reflects deductions for the missed week, these deductions were already made and these are not duplicate deductions."

The Human Resource Secretariat spokesperson added that substitute teachers' pay is variable compared to permanent salaried teachers, and deduction amounts can change significantly depending on hours worked and accumulated earnings in a given year.

A spokesperson for the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association confirmed it was aware of recent payroll issues and said the NLTA is assisting members with concerns.

Any substitute teachers with further questions can contact teacher payroll at 729-2996.