Replacement fund reimburses unauthorized first day of illness
School boards affiliated with the Replacement Fund are reimbursed for one day if they replace a sick teacher with someone without a teaching qualification. The fund, to which approximately a quarter of primary school boards are affiliated, makes this known on its website. AObdirector Eugenie Stolk: "The minister presented us with a difficult dilemma."
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The regulations of the Replacement Fund prescribe that school boards only receive compensation if they find a replacement for a sick teacher with a teaching certificate. The fund is now making an exception for this because of the teacher shortage and because of the acute problems faced by school boards due to the teacher shortage. The exception applies per case of illness of an absent teacher, writes the fund on its site, and came into effect on 1 May.
Compromise
The board of the Replacement Fund consists of employers' organizations and unions, including the AOb† “We agreed with gritted teeth to this compromise,” says AOb- driver Stolk. “In a letter to the Replacement Fund, the minister asked for a temporary exemption so that school boards always receive compensation for a certain period if they deploy unauthorized persons. We have agreed to compensation for one sick day. Schools then have one day to arrange their replacement.”
Force Majeure
It is an emergency solution, according to Stolk. “We only want qualified people for the class. That is our starting point, but we do understand that it is sometimes a matter of force majeure. An emergency. Schools have an acute problem and dividing up classes creates a higher workload for the other teachers. With this exception, boards are given one day to properly arrange it, but the minister actually has to make extra investments to structurally tackle the teacher shortage.”
