School supply teachers and other school supply staff are key workers who look after our children.

However they are not directly employed by the schools they work for (the schools conveniently contract them through agencies who are their direct employers) and the government has not been clear whether the schools should take responsibility and continue to pay their supply staff like the other teachers and employees during this period of school closures. 

This is despite the fact that the Chancellor stated that all “workers” employed via PAYE would be eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which will pay 80% of average pay over an agreed period up to a cap of £2,500 per month.

Without clearer advice from the government,  schools are ceasing to pay supply staff even though they had already budgeted to pay them through this period, and actually expect them to resume teaching or working when schools convene again. Therefore many of these supply staff are one month away from not being able to pay their rent.

We urge the Government and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Sunak, to be clear that this scheme applies to supply teachers, agency TAs and others, so that they have proper financial stability in these unsettling times. This should also apply whether they are paid PAYE or through umbrella companies (supply staff usually do not get to choose in which manner they get paid.)

We also urge school head teachers, governors, and academy CEOs to continue to employ supply and agency staff during this period so as not to abandon them and callously rehire them or new supply staff when they reconvene. Apart from leaving these workers destitute, it would give little consistency to the children's education nor aid their wellbeing.