Great News... the Government has decided to abolish Swedish Derogation (also known as Guaranteed Pay Schemes / GPS) from April 2020...
The AWR (Amendment) 2019 (SI 2019/724) abolish the Swedish Derogation, which gives a loophole for employers to avoid paying agency workers less than their own workers in certain circumstances. Mana Education have been calling for this action for a long time; some agencies have been (and still are) offering this scheme to teachers who are, what we believe to be conned into thinking they are better off just because the agency is guaranteeing 3 or 4 days’ pay a week. The stark reality is that the agency offering this does not have to pay the teacher to scale after 12 weeks, meaning the teacher will lose £1,000s in earnings for doing the same job. Don't be fooled! Read on for a more in-depth explanation.
The Government's policy can be found here: SI 2019/724
Here was our previous decision against GPS and why...
Are agencies seriously going to pay you for not working?
A few agencies offer what is called guaranteed pay (pay regardless of whether you are working or not). Mana Education took the decision not to provide a guaranteed pay scheme (also known as Swedish Derogation) for a number of reasons and we hope you agree with our opinions below, however if you would like further reassurance of our decision, please click here for some news from July 2017.
Firstly, a bit of background about recent recruitment regulation…
AWR (Agency Workers Regulations)
The AWR means that after 12 weeks of being in a position as a Teacher through a recruitment agency (where you are planning, marking and assessing) you have to legally be paid to scale. To avoid doing this, some agencies have decided to opt for a guaranteed pay scheme. It is important to understand that a GPS does not pay to the school’s pay scale; this is why a Teacher from Mana Education can be on double the daily rate than a colleague at the same school doing the same job. We believe it is right to pay teachers to scale (or what the school/academy would pay them direct) once they have qualified for AWR as they will be planning, marking and assessing as a permanent staff member would be.
RESTRICTIVE (for the Teacher of course)
If you opt for a GPS, you can only register with that agency. This means that you are only able to work for the schools they work with and not the schools you like.
With Mana Education you can pick and choose who you want to work for – on GPS you have to undertake the assignment given to you regardless of whether you would like to go there or not. Because the agency has to pay you if you are not working, they will send you out wherever and whenever they can to avoid paying you money for not working and not invoicing out (this is the cold face of business).
TEACHER BENEFIT
There are of course benefits of such schemes, one of which is you will be guaranteed a minimum of 50% of your agreed rate if you are not working, however an agency can terminate the contract after four weeks of you not working (and not before). That said it is not likely that an agency will offer you a guaranteed pay scheme if they believe you will be sat at home as you will be costing them money. So, for Teachers on £100/day, you will get £50 to stay at home in the unlikely event that the agency do not send you out; if another agency offer you work at £100+/day you will have to refuse it because the contract ties you in to working only for them.
AGENCY BENEFIT
The agency can avoid paying a Teacher to their pay scale (or what the school would pay them direct) once the Teacher completes their 12 weeks AWR qualifying period.
We believe that once they qualify for AWR, a Teacher should be paid to scale because they are undertaking the duties of a permanent Teacher – the very reason AWR was introduced. On a pay rate of £100/day, this will save the agency paying the additional £88.49 each day or £17,255/year to a U3 Teacher!
Our message...
GET PAID WHAT YOU ARE WORTH
