Supply Teacher Pay Calculator
Use the calculator to quickly find out your daily rate according to your region and point on the pay scale. Figures can be used as guidance and for negotiation with supply agencies who should be paying you what you deserve.
Salaries are for the 25/26 academic year as published by GOV.UK
How Our Supply Teacher Pay Calculator Works
The type of pay you receive depends on the contract you have and of course, whether you are employed directly by a school, local authority or via an agency. Unfortunately, this creates a much more complex landscape. Our Teacher Supply Calculator works on the pay bands outlined in the Schools Teachers Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) which is recommended by the Schools Teachers Review Body
If you manage to establish direct employment with a school then they should be paying you a daily rate calculated from your point on the teachers’ pay scale as outlined in the (STPCD). This very important document which is updated each year outlines the pay and conditions that maintained schools and local authorities in England must legally abide by. Getting direct employment with the end user also delivers extra benefits such as contributions to the Teacher Pension Scheme.
Supply teachers’ daily pay should be calculated using the following formula.
Daily Rate = Salary Point / 195
195 represents the number of teaching days in a full calendar year. Therefore, you’re being paid on a pro rata basis. Our calculator can help you benchmark and negotiate a daily rate that matches your skills and experience.
Daily Rate vs Hourly Rate
So far so simple however it can get more complicated. This is because the total number of directed hours of a teacher not on the leadership scale is 1265. When this figure is divided by 195 hours it calculates the number of hours in a school day to be 6 hours and 29 minutes. It is this calculation that justifies some schools paying a reduced rate because a supply teacher is unlikely to work this full period.
There are also times when as a supply teacher you may be asked to cover only a part of the day. In such a situation, it is strongly advised that you should be paid on a pro rata basis for the time for which you work on a pupil / school session basis. Every school day is made up of 2 pupil / school sessions; one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. We recommend that all supply teachers should always be paid for a whole session.
Agency Pay Explained
There are concerns that teachers and schools are sometimes being exploited by agencies however, at present until a major disruptor emerges, they remain a major cog in the teacher supply ecosystem. Agency reliance has grown in recent years, driven by a shortage of teacher supply exacerbated by increasingly busy school environments.
The key difference of working through an agency is the fact that they don’t have to abide by the STCPD. Agencies are commercial businesses and though many do provide a useful service they exist to drive profit. They bill schools a daily rate for your services and take a cut from your pay. Be aware that Agency fees are unlikely to be reduced where a school pays less due to budgetary pressures. At present despite unions lobbying for change there is no national pay and conditions for supply teachers employed by agencies. However, a minimum set of legal standards are set by Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations. It is also important to point out that you will not be able to contribute to the teacher pension scheme.
Before you begin any work with an agency it is absolutely imperative to establish the exact way in which you will be paid. For example whether you’re going to be paid an hourly, sessional or daily rate. Legally you should also be provided with a Key Information Document (KID) that clearly outlines your conditions and provisions for sickness absence and sick pay. If this is not provided to you prior to or on the day of engagement then we would advise you to request one.
Overall agencies are free to set their own rates but what they pay should to a degree reflect the pay scales outlined in the STCP.
Agencies must abide by the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR). This states that if you have been working in the same role with the same school/employer for at least 12 weeks you have the right to be paid on the same basis as other teachers. It may be advisable to speak directly with a school at an earlier period if you are both aware that an assignment is going to be more prolonged.
Your rights as a supply teacher in relation to agency work are as follows;
- They cannot charge you for sourcing work. They can only charge for additional services like CV writing although if they attempt to charge you for such services alarm bells should probably be ringing.
- Charge you for additional services linked to your employment. For example you should not be charged for any continuing professional development.
- You must be free to work somewhere else or with a different agency. They can ask for a notice period and seek losses but such a situation is rare and we would advise you to contact a union in such circumstances.
- Deploy another teacher if you are taking part in strike action.
- You must be paid for all the work that you do even if the school has not paid the agency for their services. Pay should not be withheld. You must be paid for the work you do even if no timesheet is provided or you leave the agency’s employment.
- Terms and conditions or a KID must be agreed on before any work is commenced. If changes are agreed then they must be communicated in writing. For more information regarding what they should provide see our KID blog.
Many school recruitment agencies are small in scale and may not have the necessary liquidity or knowledge of PAYE systems to manage payroll systems effectively. In such a scenario they may use an umbrella company to manage these back end systems. Therefore you will be employed not by the agency but the umbrella company. The fees charged by umbrella companies may also eat into your take home pay. You do not have to agree to work for an umbrella company. Unions are best advised to offer support here.
Your contract with your agency and your Key Information Document should set out your holiday entitlement and how this is paid. Workers should be paid 5.6 weeks holiday for every year worked. However agencies can pay rolled up holiday which should be 12.7% of the agreed pay. It is important to recognise that this should not come out of the pay rate but that it should be added on top.
This depends on whether you are employed directly by a school or through an agency. If employed directly by a school then you should be entitled to membership of the Teachers Pension Scheme (TPS). You are not entitled to membership to the teacher pension scheme if you work through an agency. Agency pension contributions may vary but they are likely to offer a NEST scheme with a 3% employer & 4% employee contribution with the government adding 1% tax relief. If you are working through a digital platform be careful to check who is actually handling your PAYE as it will impact your pension benefits.