The school managerial bodies are the direct employers of school staff and my Department acts as paymaster for over 4000 schools. My Department will pay the school staff within the terms of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 and government pay agreements once it receives instructions from the schools to do so.
I understand that the contract for the person referred to by the Deputy was signed by her on the 5th November 2018 and was approved by the Chairperson of the Board of Management of the school on the 17th December 2018. The contract was received by my Department on 21st December 2018. Based on the date the documentation was received in my Department, the earliest possible date for payment of salary to issue to the person referred to, was the 24th January 2019 and she was paid on that date with arrears of salary. A tax refund issued to her on the next salary pay issue of the 7th February 2019.
A letter has issued to her outlining which portion of her salary paid in 2019 relates to salary for 2018. She can revert to Revenue who will determine if a further refund is due to her.
The managerial authorities of schools are regularly advised that contracts should be submitted to my Department in a timely manner to avoid late payment of salary.
