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• agency workers regulations - your questions answer

Agency Workers Regulations – Your questions answered…

Does the 12 week qualifying period include school holidays?

No: The qualifying period pauses during school holidays and restarts on the workers return to work.
NB. The qualifying period can be re-set when there is a gap of employment of 6 weeks or the role of the job is significantly changed.
However, some breaks are merely classed as pauses to the 12 week qualifying period these include:

• Breaks of less than 6 weeks
• Sickness or absence due to sickness or injury of up to 28 weeks (official evidence must be supplied)
• Jury service of up to 28 weeks
• Interruption of service due to industrial strikes, lock out or seasonal closure as per the Schools requirement

Are the Agency workers entitled to the same holidays as a permanent member of staff?

Most assignments for Agency workers in Education are term time based and therefore they are not paid for time taken off in school holidays. Agency workers are entitled to statutory holiday leave and their holiday pay is included in their pay rate. Your consultant will tell you more when you compare the rates of pay required after the 12 week period.

What is included in the ‘Equality of Benefits’?

Equality of benefits will take place only after the 12 week qualifying period. It will include all amenities, their pay and the quality of work conditions that a permanent member of staff would receive. For example:

• Canteen
• Childcare
• Staff parking
• Access to information relating to current vacancies
• Transport services
• Toilet/shower facilities
• Staff common room
• Mother and baby room
• Prayer room

Please note this does not include off site amenities that are part of a benefit package from a reward for loyalty and length of service. If you have a current temporary worker that has been with you for a long period of time already, these benefits will only need to be met until after their 12 week qualifying period from the 1st October 2011.

What information do the schools need to give the agencies?

Agencies will require pay scales that apply to permanent workers for the level of staff they have requested from the agency. They will also need to include all benefits a permanent member of staff would receive.

What will Classroom do to monitor the 12 week qualifying period?

Our Front Office System – IBR has been upgraded to ensure we can capture all the relevant information required for monitoring the AWR. We are happy to share this information with you where necessary. We will notify you in advance of the 12 week point to ensure we make the necessary salary and benefits adjustments so we can be sure that this will cause as little impact to the school as possible.

Is Maternity leave pay included in the equality of benefits?

No: Maternity leave payment for Agency workers is covered through statutory Maternity leave via the government. However, time taken off for anti-natal appointments during the working day will be paid leave. In many cases, Agency Workers would aim to avoid taking these appointments during the usual working day.

Do schools have to pay for sick leave?

No: Sick leave is based on statutory sick pay.

Will I have to pay performance related pay increases to Agency Workers if my permanent staff are entitled to this?

Yes: The AWR is in place so that after an agency worker is with you for 12 weeks of an assignment they are entitled to basic pay equal to that of a permanent member of staff. If it is regulation at your school that a performance related rise is given after an assessment of the worker then this must also apply to an agency worker.

If my agency worker has worked with in my school through a different agency in addition to my current one, will this still be part of their 12 week qualifying period?

Yes. The qualifying period of 12 weeks will include any time they have spent in your school through any other agency. If there is a break of 6 weeks between the placements they will then be able to start from the beginning of the qualifying period. It will be the responsibility of the agency worker and the school to confirm is they have worked through another agency.

Will the AWR effect the current charge rates?

Classroom is confident that we already pay our candidates the appropriate pay rates for their positions. On receiving the pay scales from the schools we will match the salary to our daily or hourly rates. If there is an increase in the charge rate this will only be to reflect the pay rate for the agency worker to that of your permanent member of staff. It must be noted that we will not be benefiting from any rise in charge rate.

If I change the position my agency worker is in does the qualifying period re set itself?

Yes. You will need to give full details of the changes to the position and confirm start dates and the length of the new assignment. The qualifying period will only stop and re start if the new assignment is significantly different from their current position.

For more information please contact:

Kirstie Kelly Batt       Telephone: 020 7636 0600
Operations Director: Classroom Limited