Schools carrying the cost for Novopay nightmare

The Government has abandoned schools to cope with the myriad of payroll botch-ups that it created, says Nanaia Mahuta.

“New reports of school staff threatening to walk out because of the long hours and stress caused by Novopay should be wake-up call for Ministers, who have sat on their hands for far too long.

“Schools have enough on their plates without having to tidy up after the Ministry and its contractor Talent 2.

“In most workplaces staff look forward to pay day.  But since the introduction of Novopay for many schools pay day is now a nightmare.  The Government continues to underestimate the scale of this problem, and the level of stress it is causing.

“Principals and administration staff are spending hours upon hours sorting out pay problems not of their making.   And this situation has dragged on now for two months - it’s just not good enough.

“Schools should not be left to carry the can and the cost for the Novopay debacle.  The Ministry of Education should be providing extra back-up and resources for schools that are still struggling to resolve pay issues.

“The Government has not even done a basic survey of schools to find out how much staff time - and therefore money – is being spent on working through pay bungles.

“Hekia Parata and her off-sider Craig Foss should be banging heads together to get this sorted out.  This is not some “operational matter” that they can wash their hands of.  Fixing Novopay and supporting schools to cope with the mess the new system has created should be a top priority for them.

“As we head into the Christmas period Ministers needs to take responsibility and step-up to the plate to personally guarantee that no individual or school will be penalised for a Ministry blunder,” says Nanaia Mahuta.