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It’s that time of year when the employer starts the staffing process. The NBTF receives many questions on the subject and considers it important to remind teachers of this process according to the Collective Agreement.

It is also important to mention that as a result of the COVID-19 situation, the districts may be experiencing delays in the placement of teachers for next year. The NBTF will continue to maintain contact with each school district as the process unfolds.

In any school district where a layoff is necessary, the teacher with the least seniority in that school district shall be laid off before any other teacher in that school district providing the remaining staff is capable of satisfactorily fulfilling the requirements of the positions to be maintained in the district.

A Schedule B teacher to be laid off shall receive a written notice to that effect by registered email, mail or by personal service from the Superintendent or delegated designate. Such notice shall normally be served on or before June 1st and contain the reasons necessitating the layoff.

Teachers employed under short-term contracts (Schedule D contracts) who lose their positions because their contracts expire shall have the same rights and responsibilities as laid-off teachers. However, laid-off teachers who held Schedule B contracts shall have the right to apply and be considered first for any positions available. The teacher’s name will be placed on the recall list, and the teachers will be considered for future Schedule D or B contracts for which they are qualified. The maximum recall period for Schedule B or Schedule D laid-off teachers shall be (18) eighteen months.

It is the responsibility of a part-time Schedule B contract teacher and a laid-off teacher to keep his/her Superintendent or delegated designate aware of his/her availability for positions.

When teaching positions become available, the Superintendent or delegated designate shall first notify teachers laid off in writing by email, registered mail or personal service, to give them the opportunity to apply for the positions. Within a reasonable period of time of the serving of such notice to laid-off teachers, if none of the laid-off teachers either applied in writing or, if none who has applied is capable of satisfactorily fulfilling the requirements, the School District may issue a general call for applications for the positions still available,

It is important to note that some teaching contracts awarded to substitute teachers under the Collective Agreement do not afford recall rights. These are Schedule D contracts with terms that lasted less than 4 months, part-time Schedule D contracts that were less than 0.33% of a FTE, Schedule C (Local Permits), Schedule E (Special Term Contracts), and Schedule L (Certificate I, II and III Replacement Teachers).

For any question on this topic, please contact the NBTF at 1-888-679-7044.

In accordance with the Letter of Agreement Research Project – Hours of Instruction for K-2, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development funded an additional 196 FTEs (B contracts assigned to schools) for the 2019-20 school year. These teaching positions are beyond the number of teachers usually required by the Collective Agreement and are designed to meet the specific needs of the classroom composition. As per the Letter of Agreement, the government provided FENB with a detailed breakdown of FTEs as of February 1, 2020.It is also important to note that the Letter of Agreement provides that, for the duration of the collective agreement, the number of FTEs for teaching positions will not be less than the number of FTEs as of September 20, 2016, regardless of fluctuations in the student population.