PSA update: Student Support Officers

September 29, 2022 Bulletins - Schools

In this update

Welcome to our new SSOs members!
Your Workplace Rights and Entitlements
School Holidays – Flexible Working Arrangements
Recreational Leave during School Term
PSA Consultative Meetings with DoE
Your SSO PSA Delegates

Welcome to our new SSOs members!

There have been many new SSOs who have joined the PSA in recent months. Welcome to our new SSO members!

Your Workplace Rights and Entitlements

Understanding what you are entitled to at work can be confusing. To help you out, we have compiled the industrial instruments that outline your workplace rights and entitlements below:

School holidays: Flexible working arrangements

Department of Education (DoE) employees have access to flexible work arrangements; read more HERE. SSOs can utilise the DoE’s “If not, why not?” policy to request to “work from home” or a DoE office location during school holidays. The “If not, why not?” policy states that if an employee’s request to work flexibly is denied, the employee must be provided with the reasons “why not?”.

If an SSO is working on site alone at school during the vacation period, a working alone risk assessment must be conducted which considers the Work, Health and Safety implications of working alone.

Recreational Leave during the school term

The union has received reports from members that SSOs have been informed applications for recreational leave will not be approved during school term.

The PSA advises that there is no blanket rule against the application of recreational leave for SSOs during school term. Your workplace rights and entitlements as SSOs are governed by the industrial instruments listed above. These contain no provision for the blanket denial of recreational leave during school term.

While recreational leave can be denied on “operational requirements”, the employee must be provided with genuine, reasonable and a specific explanation of why the leave cannot be accommodated by the school. The specific ‘operational requirements” must be outlined in writing to the employee.

If your (reasonable) recreational leave application is denied and you are not offered a genuine operational requirement reasoning for the denial, contact the PSA directly for further advocacy.

PSA consultative meetings with the Department of Education

The PSA has regular consultative meetings with the Department of Education management, to progress SSO member matters of concern. These meetings include the DoE Joint Consultative Committee as well as meetings with senior department representatives from the Inclusion and Wellbeing Directorate where we discuss operational matters.

PSA staff and your SSO delegates attend these meetings. Members will be updated as we progress issues on your behalf.

Your SSO PSA Delegates

Callum Baillie Regional North Delegate (Tomaree HS)

Lauren Dibiasi Sydney Metropolitan Delegate (Homebush Boys HS)

Nicholas Tucknott Regional South and West Delegate (Canobolas Rural Technology High School)

*** Northern NSW SSO Delegate, Term 4 2022

Callum Baillie will be on leave during Term 4 2022. Amy Smith, SSO at Warners Bay High School, will be filling in for Callum during this time. She is contactable @ .

Need assistance at work?

As your union, the PSA is here to support you. If you have any questions or concerns you can contact the Member Support Centre on 1300 772 679, Monday-Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm.

Know an SSO who isn’t a member?

The more members the union has, the more influential we become! Encourage your SSO colleagues to JOIN the PSA today.