Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the employment of supply teachers through private supply agencies on the (a) pay and (b) pension rights of early career teachers.

No specific assessment has been made of the impact of the employment of supply teachers through supply agencies on the pay and pension rights of early career teachers.

The Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) Regulations 2014, which set out the rules for the TPS in England and Wales, determine that for teachers to be eligible to join the scheme, their employment must be with an accepted employer, usually a school.

Where a supply teacher is employed directly by an accepted school, they will have the same participation rights as a permanent teacher, and they are eligible to participate in the scheme. Where supply teachers are self-employed, or employed by a supply agency and their services are provided under a contract for services, it is not possible for them to participate in the TPS as there is no organisation to undertake the employer duties required by the scheme regulations, these include paying contributions to the scheme and maintaining or remitting employment data.

The department has previously considered which categories of employer can be accepted into the TPS and ultimately determined that supply agencies should not be included. There are currently no plans to revisit this position.

If a supply teacher is employed by a private agency the employer can set the rate of pay.