Banking Staffing Update 1 – February 2012

Here's the latest advice for 2012 from Gavin Price on  Managing Underuse from 2011, Starting a New Planner for 2012 and Banking Staffing seminars for Otago and Southland.
MANAGING UNDERUSE FROM 2011 at PP 22 IN PP 23 TO 26
Schools with underuse at pp 22 can choose to use some, all or none of that underuse by pp 26, then cash in the balance remaining at the close of pp 26.  If you decide to use some or all of it, be aware that you must overuse this year’s fortnightly entitlement to access that underuse from last year.
 Do you really want to do this?
 There will be many schools who would like to save staffing in the first 4 pay periods this year to use later in the year.  The answer for them might be to ignore last year’s underuse and take whatever reimbursement is available in April/May. Another way, which lets you both save and overuse during pp 23 to 26  is to concentrate overuse into one pay period and save in the other 3  pay periods.  That might mean hiring all your relievers during one fortnight for such things as PD and perhaps CRT.  To do this well you need to take advantage of the “notify in advance” option.  
Choose a pay period and arrange your extra staffing to work over the 10 days of that pay period.  The closedown for the pay period will occur somewhere within the  pay period of course, so to ensure that all the additional staffing comes out of the desired pay period you need to make sure that payroll receives instructions for all 10 days being worked by the closedown date for that pay period.  To be sure this works I recommend that you send the instructions a couple of days before the closedown date.
Some points to note-
• Yes, you can send instructions for days that people have not yet worked as long as those days occur within the pay period.  It is not paying in advance as they will have actually done the work before they receive payment.  There is a risk of course.  Someone who has accepted work for a day after closedown date may not be able to honour their commitment.
• How much underuse can I be reimbursed for?  Using SUE 22, find the total FTTE entitlement you received for all of 2011. You can expect reimbursement up to a maximum of 10% of that Total year’s entitlement.  (If you have more underuse remaining you might like to try to overuse somewhere in pp 23 to 26 by the amount that would otherwise be lost).  Example:  Annual entitlement at pp 22 was 345 FTTEs.  Unused 2011 entitlement at pp 22 is 5.6.  As 5.6 is less than 10% of 345, the school can expect reimbursement for all of the 5.6 FTTEs. (Note – If this school had underused by 38.5 FTTEs, it could expect reimbursement for 34.5 FTTEs, losing 4 FTTEs unless it managed to overuse by 4 somewhere in pp 23 to 26).
• How much will I get for any  2011 underuse  remaining at pp 26?  Divide the remaining estimated  eligible (see previous bullet point) FTTEs of underuse at pp 26  by 26, then multiply by $44600 to get an approximate value.  ($44600 was the rate used to reimburse schools which had underuse from 2010 at pp 26 last year.)  Example:  Underuse of 5.60 FTTEs might realise 5.6/26*44600=$9606 if the rate is again $44600.
STARTING A NEW PLANNER FOR 2012?
Go to www.bankingstaffing.co.nz or the NZPF website, www.nzpf.ac.nz/resources/banking-staffing to download the planner as an Excel file.  Any version will work but you need to adjust the recovery rate if it is out of date.  Alternatively, delete all data from blue cells in the planner you used last year, save under a new name, then use that planner for 2012.  Current recovery rate is $64000 plus GST.
NZPF BANKING STAFFING SEMINARS FOR OTAGO AND SOUTHLAND IN 2012
We spent 2011 in the North Island, the top of the South Island and earthquake affected schools in Canterbury.  From about mid February this year we will travel around Otago and Southland, (as we did in 2010), probably until about June,  and I am available to speak at Principals Association meetings at no cost (Half hour to one hour generalised staffing and banking staffing assistance) providing we can arrange mutually convenient times for such sessions.
Gavin Price, NZPF Life Member
gavin.price@xtra.co.nz   www.bankingstaffing.co.nz