Pay Rises in the Education and Health Sectors
The recent announcement of pay rises in the education and healthcare sectors may raise questions about the entitlements of temporary agency workers.
The announcements follow on from the Chancellor’s acceptance of the recommendations of the sectors’ respective pay review bodies for 2024-25, which were announced on 29th July 2024.
School teachers and leaders will receive a 5.5% pay award impacting both financial years 2024-25 and 2025-26. Teachers will start receiving their new salary in the autumn, after a new pay order is laid in Parliament and comes into force. Pay will be backdated to 1 September 2024. The teacher pay award only applies to school teachers, but the additional funding schools will receive also ensures schools are, at a national level, covered for the current 2024-25 pay offer for support staff, which is currently under negotiation.
The awards will apply to maintained schools whilst academies will continue to have autonomy over their pay and conditions. The changes also remove the requirement for schools to use the performance related pay system from September 2024.
Similarly, it was confirmed that staff on NHS Agenda for Change contracts will also receive a 5.5% pay increase across all bands, which will be backdated to 1st April 2024.
Temporary agency workers will be entitled to the pay rise if they have qualified for equal treatment under Regulation 5 of the Agency Worker Regulations 2010 (AWR). Under Regulation 5 AWR agency workers are entitled to the same basic working conditions as comparable workers directly engaged by the hirer after 12 qualifying weeks on assignment.
Under AWR, an employee is a comparable employee in relation to an agency worker if both the employee and agency worker are working for and under the supervision and direction of the hirer and are engaged in the same or broadly similar work having regard, where relevant, to whether they have a similar level of qualifications and skills. Information regarding the pay rises and workers’ entitlements should be provided directly by the client, however members are encouraged to request this information where applicable.
The relevant terms and conditions are outlined in Regulation 6 AWR and they include pay. Pay under AWR is defined as “a sum payable to a worker of a hirer in connection with the worker’s employment, including any fee, bonus, commission, holiday pay or other emoluments referable to the employment whether payable under the contract or otherwise.”
Temporary agency workers supplied to clients who have qualified for equal treatment under AWR, will be entitled to be paid at the higher rate following the pay award. Additionally, because both awards will be backdated, it is possible for agency workers who would have been entitled to equal treatment at the dates on which the respective pay awards take effect to request a backdated payment of wages.
Credit: REC
