Supply Teachers: Coronavirus

(asked on 22nd January 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department's guidance, Coronavirus (COVID-19): financial support for education, early years and children’s social care and Cabinet Office guidance, PPNs 2/20 and 4/20: Supplier relief due to coronavirus (COVID-19), updated on 21 January, whether schools are expected to pay for ongoing supply staff engagements and not terminate those engagements early and require those staff to seek state funded support.


Answered by
Nick Gibb Portrait
Nick Gibb
This question was answered on 29th January 2021

Schools will continue to receive their budgets for the coming year as usual, regardless of any periods of partial or complete closure. Schools have autonomy over these budgets and their employment arrangements and decisions on staffing are made at the local level.

Schools can continue to engage supply teachers and other supply staff during this lockdown period and schools may want to consider how supply teachers, and other temporary staff, can assist in delivering face to face education to pupils who continue to attend school, and to deliver remote education for those who are not attending.

If supply staff employed via employment agencies are unable to work due to COVID-19, their employment agency can place them on furlough and use the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to claim for 80% of their wages, including during school holiday periods, provided that the eligibility criteria are met. Information on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme. Information on eligibility criteria is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-which-employees-you-can-put-on-furlough-to-use-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme.

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