Guidance

Term time only employees and equated pay adjustments

Equated pay – support staff working term time

Equated pay is the system used to calculate the pay due to non-teaching term time only employees. To calculate the amount of pay due over a year the employee’s weekly hours are multiplied by the hourly rate and then by the number of weeks the employee is paid per annum (the factor).

The factor usually includes the number of working weeks together with an element of annual leave and bank holidays. The pay due per annum is paid in 12 equal monthly instalments. This means that, as the employee’s hours of work vary from month to month, the salary payment made each month does not accurately reflect the work undertaken.

Although the salary paid over a period of a year will be correct, when an employee leaves their position there will be either an overpayment or underpayment unless an adjustment to the employee’s salary is made. On the date that an employee leaves their position, a comparison is made between the pay due and the pay received and the relevant adjustment is made – this is called an equated pay adjustment.

Adjustments can be positive or negative, as generally, in the autumn term term-time employees will work more weeks than they are paid, remembering they are paid 12 equal payments through the year, whilst in the summer they may work less than they are paid. The calculation refers to the position’s annual salary at the date of leaving, therefore employees on higher hours and grades may see larger adjustments.
Monthly gross salary is calculated as: Hours per week x hourly rate x factor/12

Weeks per year for term time staff

Please contact email payroll@devon.gov.uk if you require the specific pay factors used for your staff.

Historic arrangement annual hours – school-based staff

The notes set out below are a summary of the various local arrangements that used to apply to the payment of annual hours staff in schools.

Staff are no longer paid on an annual hours basis, as all support staff in schools who work term time are paid on an equated pay basis in line with the NJC Green Book (see above).

The principles below are superceded by the equated pay arrangements, however schools can follow them if they wish. Please note that Payroll will use start/leaving dates as provided on the relevant forms, and equated pay adjustments will be processed (where applicable) based on these dates.

Starters

• Starts on first day of term – which is on or before 15 of month
  • Salary to be paid from the 1st of that month
• Starts on first day of term – which is later than 15 of month
  • Salary to be paid from 1st day of employment
• Starts on any day other than 1st day of term
  • Salary to be paid from 1st day of employment

Leavers

Leaves on the last day of spring or autumn term:

• Short-term employees (ie those who have worked for less than half a term):
  • Pay to last day worked, or following Sunday if this is a Friday
• Other staff:
  • Pay to end of calendar month
    Or
  • End of the school closure period only, where the new term starts before the end of the calendar month

NB: If the school closure spans two calendar months, pay to the end of the first calendar month.

Leaves on the last day of the summer term

• Employees in post prior to the start of the summer term:
  • Pay to 31 August
• Employees who start and leave in the same summer term:
  Where term start date is on or before 15 of the month and the employee starts on the first day of term –
  • Pay to 31 July
• Where term start date is later than 15 of the month and the employee starts on the first day of term –
  • Pay to 31 August
• Where actual start date is later than the first day of term –
  o    Pay to 31 July but:
• Short-term employees (ie those who have worked for less than half a term):
  • Pay to last day worked, or following Sunday if this is a Friday

Leaves on the working day prior to the commencement of half-term

• If in post at the start of the term:
  • Pay to the end of half term closure
• If started after the start of term:
  • Pay to the last working day, or following Sunday if the last working day is a Friday

Leaves at any time other than last day of term or half-term

• Pay to the last working day, or following Sunday if the last working day is a Friday

Assessment of new teachers

Due to changes introduced by Teachers’ Pensions in October 2015 Payroll will no longer be able to provide an accurate assessment of a teacher’s previous salary.

Salary ranges have changed significantly, moving away from fixed points to pay ranges. However, in this time, Devon LEA has still employed a discretionary range for the benefit of its schools.

Since September 2020 these discretionary points follow the re-introduction of ‘Advisory points’ as set out in the Teachers Pay and Conditions document. Teachers’ current pay ranges and allowances can be accessed here.

Please ensure that all iTrent starter forms are completed with DfEE numbers. If you do not know the DfEE number we are able to request the number from Teachers’ Pensions, but this is only possible if we have the National Insurance number and the date of birth. It would therefore be helpful if you enter these on the iTrent starter form.

Newly qualified teacher

Complete an iTrent starter form and determine whether entitled to the teachers’ main pay range.
QTS can be confirmed:

• through the Department for Education (DfE) gateway – Teacher Services
• ask the teacher to provide QTS certificate (issued by DfE)

QTLS can be confirmed by the teacher:

• it requires active annual membership to the Education and Training foundation, which can be checked via the Society for Education and Training (SET) website
• teachers provide evidence of QTLS and membership to Education and Training Foundation

Unqualified teacher

Refer to the unqualified teacher pay range.

Please note: if an unqualified teacher becomes qualified during the period of employment, then the establishment must pay (as a minimum) the lowest point on the Teachers’ main pay range, and retrospection will be required (from date QTS/QTLS awarded). An iTrent Transfer form (to a qualified teaching position) should be submitted at point of attaining qualified status.

Experienced teacher

If you are employing a teacher with previous teaching service, as a starting point for establishing salary:

• Contact the previous employer or ask to see most recent payslip to establish a salary
• Establish Qualified Teacher Status (ask for copy of certificate from teacher, check DfE website)
• You can also use the Department for Education School information search function to check for previous establishment details if required here (note this is for Schools in England only).

Payroll forms

The iTrent starters form should be used for new contracted teachers as well as new supply teachers (including setting up additional supply positions to pay extra hours worked by teachers with a part time contract).

For those schools that have moved away from the DCC discretionary pay range (including variation of the pay award application for MPS 6) you must include on the iTrent starter form the FTE salary that the supply teacher’s hours are to be based upon.