Pandemic payments
Rather than using an umbrella-type model, all of our candidates and bank staff are paid directly through PAYE. Working in this way has been a focus of ours since our creation in 2016 and, during the pandemic, we saw the full value of this approach and the risks for supply teachers of partnering with a firm that pays its staff via an umbrella organisation.
Once the lockdowns commenced and schools and other educational institutions were closed, many umbrella staff were left high and dry. They didn’t know whether they were being furloughed or not, had no employer support network – or insurance – in place to help them, and were essentially stranded by their employer. In comparison, our teachers were given all the support they needed.
Supply teacher payroll
This isn’t just an issue during pandemics and times of crisis. Some, but not all, umbrella firms have gained a reputation for acting in an unscrupulous way. While they offer what seems like higher rates of pay, they will often take a large chunk of these earnings, leaving supply teachers with less in their wallets.
That means that the day rate that they’re initially sold on, while seemingly higher, will be chipped away at by the umbrella, and agency, to cover a number of additional costs including the administrative fees which are charged every week for payslips. Once these costs have been deducted, all in all, the candidate’s take-home pay is considerably reduced.
A trustworthy partner
At The Supply Register, we don’t work in this way.
We know from our expertise and deep knowledge of the market that supply teachers want consistency, and a fair deal. In an ideal world, they want to work in the same location, and they want to feel like a core partner of that working environment, in the same way that a permanent staff member would.
When working through an agency, this isn’t always the case; supply workers will be sent to work where the agency wants them to go, and if they are signed up yo a number of agencies this approach often means that they are forced into signing up with umbrellas to take care of payroll, whether they are happy with that approach or not. Essentially, this means supply teachers are potentially losing out on certain benefits and the risks laid on workers are much greater.
Working through an agency leaves supply teachers more exposed than, say, becoming part of our bank would, where they are able to gain from the same benefits that permanent counterparts do. When working with us, supply teachers get a clear and transparent payslip for work they have completed every week. They also get more work opportunities; on average, supply specialists who partner with us work 4.5 days per week, 1.5 days more than the average for the sector. This is because when you become part of a bank of staff, you become an extension of the school or institution that you’re working for.
This approach isn’t just the one we believe works best and provides the fairest possible deal for candidates and school leaders, it’s also supported by NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union in the country. We will never use an umbrella approach to engaging and paying our staff as we believe it is unfair on the workers, and our customers agree.
Contact us to join the many other education institutes that have committed to working in a more efficient way to engage supply teachers that benefits teaching professionals, schools and Trusts, rather than the middle men.
If you are a supply specialist looking to work join our bank of expert talent, then get in touch with our team.
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