A Step by Step guide to making an AWR claim

What Is AWR?

Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) legislation was introduced in 2010, to give zero hours workers some guaranteed rights. There are some basic rights from day one working in a new assignment and enhanced rights after 12 weeks. The most significant right, as far as supply teachers are concerned, is comparative pay with someone doing the same job in the same school after 12 weeks. The legislation was adapted specifically for supply teachers in 2014:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/550123/Agency_Workers_Regulations_-_1_Sept_2016.pdf

so that breaks such as school holidays only pause, rather than reset, the AWR process.

How Do I Qualify For AWR?

In the simplest cases, if you are on a long term placement, at the same school, once you have been at the school for 12 weeks, you would qualify for comparative pay through AWR. That means that, from the 13^th week, you should be paid what you would be paid if employed full time by the school, based on the school’s published pay policy and their history of employment.

The qualifying weeks do not have to be full weeks of work: one hour worked at the school will be enough to qualify that specific week.

Once you have been in a placement for approximately 10 weeks, then you should contact someone to guide you through the AWR process. We would recommend the team at the National Supply Teachers Network. To get the assistance of the Network, first join the Network Association:

https://nstn.whitefuse.net/pages/become-a-member-today

Once you are a member of the Association, then write a post asking for AWR assistance on the members forum of the Association page or on the Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/857200061136429

During the academic year 2022/23, the Network helped members to reclaim £117,500 of unpaid AWR comparative pay. The Network are known to the agencies and have their own dedicated ACAS conciliator. For all these reasons, claims through the Network are settled faster, with an almost 100% success rate.

What Happens At 12 weeks?

At 12 weeks, your agency should increase your pay to the correct level of comparative pay without you having to ask for it. However, in reality, it is very often the case that the supply teacher will have to remind the agency when approaching 12 weeks. This is the first step of an AWR claim process, therefore we would suggest seeking the assistance of the Network Association team before taking this step. This step is known as the informal request and it is precisely that, informal. It can be verbal or in an email. We would suggest doing it as an email, so you can provide it as evidence later in the process.

The agency will often phone you back, as a verbal conversation, though still legal, is more difficult to prove. If the agency phone you in response, note the time of the call and who you spoke to and a rough transcript of what was said. Even better, send the agency a confirming email of what you believe the outcome of the conversation was. Add that email to your evidence folder.

The agency, when you go for interview, should ask:

• where you are on the teacher’s main pay scale
• for any evidence to prove that (letter from school where you were last fully employed)
• what schools you have been working at recently (as you may have already started the qualifying period)

Some teachers already take evidence proving their experience point to interviews, just so there is no misunderstanding. Some agencies pay AWR when it is highlighted that the 12 week qualifying period has been completed by the teacher, but other agencies with give a multitude of reasons not to pay AWR comparative pay.

Agencies may say ‘you don’t do planning’ or ‘you don’t have your own form group’ or ‘AWR doesn’t apply to you.’ All of these are just excuses not to pay you your legally entitled wages. If you claim through the Network, the negotiator will have emails to counter all these excuses from agencies by reminding them of the specific sections of the legislation they are breaking.

Can Agencies Avoid Paying AWR?

Avoiding paying AWR parity pay is counter to government legislation and there is now a fine of up to £20,000 for trying to avoid paying AWR parity wages.

Should this happen, get in contact with your local union representative immediately. Sometimes, a placement may mysteriously come to an end at the 11 or 12 week mark. Again, this is either the agency or the school trying to avoid their AWR obligations. Again, get your local union representative involved immediately, so you can get yourself reinstated in your job and being paid at a comparative wage.

The response to a sudden ending of a placement, however, needs to be swift. Some of the teaching unions (NEU and NASUWT) are more used to working with Local Authorities and their response can seen painfully slow. If the response from your union is not immediate, get in contact with the National Supply Teachers Network, preferably through their Facebook page:

Link to the National Supply Teacher Network Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/857200061136429

also the National Supply Teachers Network Association webpage:

https://nstn.whitefuse.net/

They are very good at phoning the school, reminding the school that AWR is legislation and that trying to circumvent the AWR legislation comes with a £20,000 fine. Notifying the school of the legal facts is often all that is required for them to reverse their decision.

How Much Is Comparative Pay?

When we say comparative pay or paid to scale, what do we mean? In England and Wales, there are common negotiated pay scales, the main pay scale (MPS) and the Upper Pay Scale (UPS) which are negotiated and recommended by the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB). Following the recent freeze, the pay scales remain are as follows:

London Pay scales:

https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/advice/supply-teacher/supply-teachers-pay-/supply-teachers-pay-england.html

Wales Pay Scales:

https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/static/uploaded/5f7ad121-9d31-4bf8-b280ea035ccb5006.pdf

The daily rate is calculated by dividing the annual pay by 195 days, the number of days in the schools year (192 working days and 3 Inset days). These daily rates are what you should be paid when paid to scale after 12 weeks.

This is the amount paid to teachers who work directly with council run schools (mainly Primary schools these days). Academies can apply their own pay scale, but often follow the national scales, so that teachers don’t take a pay cut when moving to their school from a council run school.

Who Is The Hirer And How Could It Affect My Claim?

The 12 week qualifying period does not have to be with the same school: only with the same ‘hirer’.

With council run schools, the council is the hirer. With academies, the academy trust is the hirer. It is therefore possible to complete the AWR qualifying 12 week period with a number of different schools in the same council or the same Multi-Academy Trust (MAT).

Also, the AWR qualifying weeks do not have to be consecutive: so long as there is not a break of more than 6 weeks, in term-time, between working days, then the qualifying period continues. School holidays merely pause the qualifying process. For example, your 12 week qualifying period could be split over the summer holidays, with 6 qualifying weeks before the holidays and 6 weeks after.

How To Make An AWR Claim?

If you are already in a long term placement and have already completed the 12 week qualifying period, you may not want to upset your school. You may not want to ‘rock the boat’ by insisting on AWR comparative pay if you are turned down at step one, the informal request.

A claim through the National Supply Teachers Network Association:

https://nstn.whitefuse.net/

has proven over the last 4 years to be the most successful way to make a claim, with £250,000 and rising claimed back for supply members.

The Next Steps

The next step in the process will be to join the National Supply Teachers Network Association and work with one of their negotiators to reclaim the money you are owed.