CID

Contract of Indefinite Duration

Teachers employed on contracts of indefinite duration (CID) have all the same rights and entitlements as permanent teachers. 

A contract of indefinite duration is essentially the same as a permanent contract, except that the holder is paid based on the hours they teach. A teacher is usually entitled to a CID if they have worked on two continuous fixed-term contracts in the same school, provided they were not covering for a colleague absent on an approved leave of absence scheme in the fourth year and as long as there is a continuing need for their position. 

The only difference between a contract of indefinite duration and a permanent contract is that CID holders who teach less than 18 hours are paid at an hourly rate for the number of hours they teach each week. CID holders on 18 hours or more per week are paid a full-time salary.

Significant gains for temporary teachers

Arrangements, which came into effect in September 2015, mean teachers in temporary positions will become eligible for CIDs after two years in a school, provided they meet the criteria for a CID.

Teachers covering for those on career break and secondments also qualify for CIDs after two years.

CID teachers with additional temporary hours will get these hours on a permanent basis after just one year (previously, the requirement was 3 years).

The arrangements follow a lengthy campaign by the teacher unions to have the issue of casualisation in second-level teaching addressed. The report of the Expert Group on Fixed-Term and Part-Time Employment in Primary and Second-Level Education in Ireland (the Ward report), which was negotiated by the ASTI as part of the Haddington Road Agreement, recommended that teachers replacing absentees on career break should no longer be barred from receiving CIDs on the basis of such employment.

Qualifying for a CID

The granting of CIDs for teachers is governed by Circular 0024/2015.

In order to qualify for a CID you must:

• be registered with the Teaching Council
• hold appropriate qualifications, including a PGDE/H.Dip/PME
• Have in excess of two years continuous teaching service, under two or more successive written contracts of employment with the same employer that were paid for by monies provided by the Oireachtas

Teachers who meet the above criteria will be entitled to a CID unless:

• Their post will not be viable within a reasonable period, and this was set out as an objective ground in writing in the previous contract
• They are covering for a teacher on an approved scheme of leave of absence (other than for Career Break or Secondment) and this was set out as an objective ground in writing in the previous contract.

CID hours

The hours of the CID will be those hours for which the teacher was engaged on a fixed-term contract in the school year prior to the issuing of the CID.

Salary 

CID 18 hours or more
A CID holder on 18 hours or more may be paid full time salary if they agree in writing to be timetabled up to 22 hours per week. A Form H22 must be completed and returned to the Department of Education or ETB to enable teachers to have their salary adjusted. This means they will be paid a yearly salary of their relevant point on the salary scale plus allowances, if applicable. 

CID with fewer than 18 hours
A teacher with a CID, who teaches fewer than 18 hours a week, is paid a fraction of their relevant point on the salary scale plus allowances based on the number of hours they are contracted to work each week.

(a) Determine your relevant point on the salary scale, and add allowances (if applicable). Divide this number by 52 (weeks in the year)
(b) Divide again by 22 (22 hours = full time hours)
(c) Multiply by the number of hours you are contracted to work each week

This will indicate how much gross salary you should be paid each week, before deductions. As teachers are paid every fortnight, you should multiply this figure by two to check if the 'gross salary' figure on your payslip is correct.   

Incremental Credit

Teachers can claim incremental credit for each year worked on a CID contract.

Sick leave

Paid sick leave for CID teachers is limited to a maximum of 183 days of absence in any period of four consecutive years of teaching service. In calculating the 183 days, absence both certified and uncertified sick leave will be counted. 

Links

• See FAQs on CIDs from the Department of Education here. 
• Form CID 23-24 - APPLICATION FOR DEPARTMENT SANCTION FOR AN INITIAL OR FURTHER CONTRACT OF INDEFINITE DURATION (CID) IN THE 2022/23 SCHOOL YEAR UNDER THE TERMS OF CIRCULAR 0024/2015

  and/or APPLICATION FOR AN INCREASED CID FOR A TEACHER WITH A CID FOR 18 HOURS OR MORE UNDER THE TERMS OF CIRCULARS 0048/2007 AND 0011/2009 (H22) (For teachers in Secondary, Community and Comprehensive Schools)