– I get NOK 110,000 more a year just by changing workplaces, says Torunn Birkeland. Teachers can get a much higher salary if they now change jobs. Previously, professional experience from a private business did not count, unless it had been work that was relevant for a teaching position. But after the salary settlement in 2022 between KS and the teachers’ organisations, it was decided that all professional experience should give seniority. This does not apply to those who have worked in the same workplace since the law came into force. This means that teachers must change workplace or employer in order to have their seniority reviewed again. Work in a shop as a student This is the situation Birkeland is in. She has worked at Lundehaugen secondary school in Sandnes for two and a half years. The work experience from the time before she became a teacher will therefore come in handy if she changes jobs. Now she has got a job at another school. – I get approval for all the years I worked in a shop as a student. It is not a question of little money the teachers can get if they change jobs. Photo: Tom Edvindsen / news I think the municipalities must do something Elin Djuve is the leader of the Rogaland Education Association. She says there is an increase in teachers who are now applying to other schools. – It can be a lot of money, and not many people would say no thanks to that, she says. Djuve believes that the municipalities should consider increasing the salary of teachers in line with seniority, so that they do not have to change jobs. – We believe that the municipalities should reassess seniority. At the same time, we see that it is challenging. Elin Djuve is the leader of the Education Association in Rogaland. Photo: Thomas Ystrøm / news – We can’t afford it Because it costs a lot of money. Especially in large municipalities such as Sandnes. – If we in Sandnes were to give all teachers a new seniority calculation, it would cost the municipality NOK 50 million, says head of school in Sandnes, Hege Røen. Røen says the municipality cannot afford to do this. – That is why we stick to the main tariff agreement and the agreement that everyone agrees on, she says. This means that the teachers have to get a new job at another school to get more pay. Head of school Hege Røen in Sandnes municipality. Photo: Elise Pedersen / news Geir Røsvoll is the leader of the Education Association. He believes that municipalities can easily avoid the problem by having teachers change jobs. – The contracting authority opens up to give wage supplements to retain labour, and many municipalities have done this to retain the expertise in the municipality, he says. Røsvoll points out that the new seniority rule is a good and important improvement to the contractual system. – Of course, employees must be paid according to the seniority they actually have, he says. Head of the Education Association, Geir Røsvoll. The Danish Education Association is aware that some teachers will change jobs to get more pay. Photo: Stig Weston / Uddanningsforbundet – Not the intention of the scheme Frode Ingvaldstad is a senior adviser in the Municipal Sector Organization (KS) Western Norway. He says the new scheme is a good recruitment initiative. – The target group is young graduates whom the municipalities want to recruit. In order to give the municipalities a bit of help, they get seniority from previous jobs, he says. In order to get more people to become teachers, Lånekassen has made it possible for student teachers to have up to NOK 361,000 of their student loan written off. Read more about it here. The fact that teachers change jobs to get more pay, he says, was not the intention of the scheme. But he still understands that teachers will change jobs to earn more money. – All this has been discussed and assessed. This has created a number of challenges for the municipalities, so we will see if some adjustments are made, says Ingvaldstad. Leader of KS West-Norway, Frode Ingvaldstad. He says it was not the intention of the new arrangement that teachers should change jobs. Photo: Simon Elias Bogen / news Not easy to change jobs Teacher Birkeland changes jobs with a heavy heart. She actually had no plans to change workplace. – I feel incredibly well here, but I found out that it was actually an advantage to change, she says. She got a job offer at a school that is closer to where she lives. She thus gets a shorter journey to work and NOK 110,000 more in annual salary. Then the choice became a little less difficult. Birkeland says it is sad that many teachers are now doing like her. It’s the students that matter. – It is especially a pity for the pupils who are in the nursery school. They are losing a teacher who the pupils want to continue. The students have the right to predictability that the teachers will follow them over several years, she says.
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Torunn gets so much more in salary by changing jobs
