News & Views

Is the repeal of the 2017 and 2021 reforms to the off-payroll working rules as part of last month’s ’Mini Budget’ statement the good news our contractors, employers and agencies wanted? What do you think? Are you ready for a change and do we actually know what the new legislation will mean?

Dave Hedges is a tax partner at Azets and says there is “an absence of fine detail” around how HMRC will manage the transition over the coming months. “While the changes are welcome and have been lobbied for, we are advising clients throughout the engagement chain to tread carefully pending clarification,” he said.

Some questions remain following the chancellor’s announcement that the Off-Payroll Working (OPW) rules are to be repealed from April 6th 2023. There are three main reasons for this:

Is it really going to happen? Nothing has changed yet and we have a Budget coming up in November, preceded by a government already doing a U-turn on its 45p tax rate plan. The possibility of further U-turns therefore seems significant. Fingers crossed that this promised repeal of the OPW rules goes ahead. But it’s not certain.

End-clients (both public and private sectors), agencies, umbrella companies, accountants and IR35/OPW advisers are all taking stock and wondering how this could affect their business. And yes, that goes for me too!

Contractors are realising that unless they have always been outside IR35 and working for ‘small’ companies (not affected by the OPW rules), that their own circumstances are complicated.  Notably where the contractor is:

currently with an umbrella, or

holding an SDS where the client has stated ‘inside IR35’, or;

regularly jumping between their PSC and an umbrella company depending on the IR35/OPW assessment.

At this stage (Q4 2022), nobody knows how the repeal of the OPW rules will work. That’s the unpopular, hard truth.  Many commentators are reaching for their crystal balls, with some suggesting that there will be new rules for contractors added onto the IR35 rules of old (2000), such as requiring contractors to complete Status Determination Statements. There’s even the odd whisper that end-clients will continue to determine IR35 status; that blanket bans on using PSCs will continue indefinitely, and that HMRC will declare some sort of ‘amnesty’ on prior SDSs with ‘inside’ results. As interesting as they are, these really are only opinions at this stage and should be taken as nothing more.

So what can we do now? Every part of the contracting chain needs to use this time to analyse the effects on their own businesses and it is vital that all get up to speed with IR35 version one (2000). 

Keep watching the contractor press for developments (the contractor ‘press’ that doesn’t just stick a press release up!).

Decide what you want to do -- if you could.

Collect and keep all evidence including SDS outcomes, online IR35 status tool outputs, end-client correspondence, contract review results, and working practices changes/opinions.

Find out about your personal situation now, to see what the options and (above all else) the risks are, and if a change in your status is feasible.

Speak to your client and find out what their position may be come April 6th 2023, especially if you are contracting with an organisation that has banned PSCs.

Take advice from only those that, as impartial as possible, understand all the rules (from 2000 onwards), and ideally those with hands-on experience of successfully defending IR35 HMRC investigations.

This could be great news for professional interim and self employed workers, it could be great news for large private companies and the public sector to attract and retain key skills to help them deliver growth and it could be great news for those involved in the supply of these people. For now, keep up to date, get planning and be ready, April will soon be here…

Understandably the start of the academic year is a busy period when it comes to hiring staff within Colleges, who need to recruit quickly. Similar roles and candidates are often needed simultaneously and now with job seekers being in higher demand they have more choices than in previous years, so you need to act fast if you want to hire the right talent for your College.

In this article, we’ll be looking at some of the ways you can help improve your chances of recruiting the right talent for your College. Whether that’s by getting the most out of your recruitment consultant or by implementing some tips for you and your staff. 

Hire at paceFor those managers who are hiring temporary staff in FE, both new and old, the best advice we could give to you for hiring staff from recruitment agencies is to move at pace.

Not managing to hire or hiring poor quality staff can have an incredibly negative impact on the outcomes of learners and morale amongst existing staff; and it's no secret that the FE and education sectors in general are facing huge challenges in recruiting and retaining staff, particularly at Lecturing, Support Assistant and Management level. So your College's recruitment process and strategy needs to be as efficient as possible if it is to be successful.

Sell the opportunityIt’s important to assess the candidate’s suitability for your vacancy, however it's also crucial that as a hiring manager you ‘sell’ the vacancy to the candidate and highlight the amazing opportunity to work in your team and at your College. Promoting the College's vision and values and providing first hand feedback on what it's like to work there will enable candidates to picture what life is like at your College.

The interview experience is an incredibly important factor for job seekers when considering offers; those who have had a positive experience and can see the passion and enthusiasm their potential new manager has, are more likely to be excited about the prospect of working there.

Act fastWe all know that a strong candidate will always have multiple job offers on the table and that they will be evaluating each opportunity on its own merits, so if you like the candidate and want to make them an offer, then act fast. Being responsive and proactive can often be the difference in successfully appointing a member of staff and not.

The more detail is betterMake time to talk to your recruitment consultant, they are there to act as an extension of your HR recruitment team; it's crucial that they are able to fully articulate the opportunity within your team and in order to do that, a brief phone or video call (usually 10-15 minutes) can be the difference to successfully fulfilling your requirements and not.

Given the demand for good candidates in the education sector currently, job seekers are looking to establish as much information about the job and employer they are applying to in order to aid their decision making process. If you haven’t come away from a briefing call with your recruiter feeling slightly interrogated, then they probably haven’t done their job properly.

Set aside time for adminTo make sure your consultant can support you to the best of their ability, it’s best if you set aside some time to discuss appropriate timescales on how soon they can provide candidates for you to review, a time to discuss feedback and pre-booked diary slots for interviews. This will make the recruiting process go smoother, faster and your consultant will be able to advise how quickly they can confidently supply options.

By applying the tips in this article, you’re sure to find the right staff for your College in no time. If you are looking to recruit new staff why not reach out to our Education Recruitment Team, they have over 100 years combined experience and are proud to be a key supplier of staff to FE. You can email our team at [email protected]

The Great Resignation is a phrase usually associated with office workers, but recent stats indicate that the next Great Resignation could be among teaching staff.  A survey conducted by the National Education Union (NEU)  found that a fifth of teachers (22%) said they would leave within two years. An estimated 44% of teachers in England are planning to quit by 2027. 

Statistics published by the DfE reveal that of teachers who qualified in 2014, just 67% were still in service after five years in 2019. 

The high drop-out rates suggest that attempts to tackle teacher workload - seen as a main obstacle to teacher retention - is failing.

Teachers’ mental health is being damaged by working excessive and long hours, causing stress and burnout. Research by the NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union revealed that, nine out of ten teachers (91%) reported that their workload has increased in the last year, according to the Union’s Big Question Survey 2022. 

In the private sector, The Great Resignation has come about partly due to employees wanting the flexibility of remote working and flexible hours. In the private sector, companies are trialling four-day weeks with no reduction in pay and are offering flexible hybrid-working.

And, while the world around us has changed considerably, the fundamentals of education have not shifted in the same way. Professionals, including teachers, are looking at flexible working as a key priority in their career decisions and job search. Teaching is generally a sector where these new types of working cannot be offered.  

School teachers are currently paid over £9,000 more than college teachers on average, despite many college lecturers being more specialist and having industry experience. FE salaries are also often lower than those in industries.

Jade Blackburn, Director of Human Resources at Waltham Forest College, reveals:

"We know that teachers have concerns about an ever increasing workload and that salaries in the FE sector are being outstripped by salaries on offer back in ‘industry’ – this is a particular challenge in the construction trades and IT & Digital."

Staff that leave the profession often report that their college or school had limited career development and training options. And when it is there for the taking, a lack of time and a heavy workload can prevent FE tutors from taking-up continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities. 

Although teachers in the UK battled on as key workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns, there is an issue with perception, which is common in countries including the UK and US.

Teaching and marking are what most people think of when they think of a career in education, but there are a whole host of other parts of the role that many outside the sector do not appreciate, which can often be surprising and very challenging to new teachers coming into the profession. This includes admin, lesson preparation, assessments, record keeping, exams, and pastoral care. They also often don’t consider the more personal skill element of teaching, such as managing the emotional charge of a room of 30 (often young) minds or the emotional intelligence of what it takes to drive and motivate each member of a class.

In the 2018 Global Teacher Status Index, the countries that most respect their teachers are China, Taiwan and Malaysia. In these countries, the teaching profession is seen as on par with doctors. 

When it comes to The Great Teacher Resignation, how we can attract and retain the next generation of FE staff is a key question. 

The Association of Colleges (AOC) is pushing for the government to work with the FE sector so that colleges can pay their staff better and support them with their development. Some colleges have introduced a salary overhaul in certain subject areas. 

Waltham Forest College, is one example of an FE institution looking at the issue of salary and career development. As Jade Blackburn explains:

“Our turnover of teaching staff is lower than the sector average, but we’re not complacent – we have introduced recruitment and retention payments for new joiners in hard to fill roles, we’re reviewing our overall benefits package and ensuring staff have access to good quality CPD so that our first and foremost succession planning tool is to grow and develop our own staff into future teachers, managers and leaders.”

Those working outside of the education sector are not aware of the generous annual leave entitlement that comes with FE. Although this is dependent on the type of role, most are entitled to around 38 days holiday per year, plus bank holidays. This is significantly higher than the basic 20-to-25-day standard allowance. FE providers could be more transparent about this benefit, as well as other benefits such as pensions. College staff have access to the Teacher Pension Scheme, which compares favourably to almost all private sector schemes. 

Waltham Forest College is looking into the issue of workload. As Jade Blackburn explains,“We’ve heard the concerns about workload and are continuing to work together to create workable, long term solutions to reduce workload - particularly administrative burdens on teachers.”

Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of teachers is also key to retaining staff and is an area that is being developed.  

The use of mentoring and coaching for teachers is widespread. Mentors and coaches may offer support to new teachers as part of an induction process or to existing teachers to enhance the quality of teaching and learning. 

Although FE workloads are demanding, teachers and assessors can often choose between working full-time, part-time, compressed hours, evenings or even on a casual, hourly basis. This leaves significant scope for flexibility in working hours. Nowadays, there is an opportunity for FE colleges to promote flexible working and home working options where possible. 

There is an opportunity for FE institutions to adopt some of the tactics that the private sector uses in their candidate attraction and one such example is reviewing their employer brand.

FE colleges are diversifying where posts are advertised to reach a wider talent pool. They are also broadening their use of social media, working in partnership with industry to offer specialist delivery and engaging with specialist recruitment agencies to headhunt teachers and trainees. 

Other key areas for teacher attraction can include growing a pipeline by promoting vacancies to existing staff and students completing their studies and alumni, as well as promoting FE jobs to parents at student open evenings. 

Finally, inconsistency in management styles between different schools and colleges is a real challenge. Good onboarding and ensuring a consistent and robust induction process for all staff can go some way to address this.

So, while there might be a Great Teacher Resignation about to happen, teaching remains an attractive and fulfilling profession. As schools and colleges continue to take action to improve teacher workload and staff wellbeing, real progress can be made.

If colleges work proactively with the sector to understand the drivers behind current issues and improve their policies and interventions, attracting teachers and retaining them will no longer be the issue they are today.

Yesterday evening, Gavin Williamson, the UK’s Secretary of State for Education, announced the government’s plans and guidance for the Education sector to reopen in September. The news, although very positive for the sector as a whole, does still raise concerns about children’s and staff’s safety.

Nurseries, early years providers and childminders have been welcoming back children since the beginning of June. From the beginning of September, schools and Further Education College will be expected to do the same, with attendance being mandatory from the start of the new academic year.

As expected, guidelines are still in place to minimise contact where possible. For nurseries and other early years providers, the limit on bubble sizes has been lifted, but classes are still expected to be separated to minimise the risk of spreading cases, should they occur. Schools and Colleges are advised to do the same, especially between year groups, by separating classes and limiting the movement of classes through corridors at the same time.

Schools may also consider staggering their teaching hours and class times to minimise the number of students and teachers in the school at any one time. Teachers are also expected to distance themselves from each other and older students as much as possible.

Special guidance for SEN schools and other providers have also been outlined by the government. 

The full reopening of schools is a positive move for the sector which has been hugely disrupted since the lockdown began in March. The closure of our schools and colleges meant that a huge proportion of staff were placed on furlough or had contracts ended and many will have also been made redundant. But now that preparations for September will be underway, we expect to see more jobs in the Education sector across the board.

The UK economy has been hit severely by the pandemic, which has raised concerns about recession, the effects of which are already being seen through high unemployment. Jobs in all sectors are less widely available than this time last year.

As a result, we expect that both young and adult learners will focus on their education, developing existing skills, upskilling to meet the demand for certain jobs and in some instances retraining for career moves. For Further Education colleges, this should have a positive effect on enrolment numbers which in turn increases the need for teachers to meet the demand.

An increase in College course attendees should also increase the need for support staff and cleaners in the school to ensure that the highest standard of safety is maintained for staff and pupils. 

The greatest concern is of course the risk to the wellbeing of staff and pupils. The pandemic is not yet over and schools, colleges, parents and pupils will be understandably concerned about the risk of contracting the virus caused by increased contact to others.

According to the government, the risk of contracting the virus in schools and colleges is low and they are confident the measures outlined in their plan will help minimise that risk as much as possible. For example, regular cleaning and handwashing should be practiced. Schools will also be provided with a limited number of home test kits for those who would normally not have access. This, they hope, will help identify new cases early on so that the spread can be controlled. However, this doesn’t take into consideration the potentially higher quantity of pupils and teachers that will be present in the next academic year, as well as the risk of a second wave.

The government outlined that in the case of contraction, the person affected and small groups of young people and staff will be asked to self-isolate for up to 14 days. A mobile testing unit may also be sent to test others who have been in contact with the person who has tested positive. Testing will focus on the immediate class, then the year group, followed by the whole school if necessary.

The true risk to the everyone’s health and wellbeing will be unclear until schools do open again in September. Education organisations now need to focus on planning their return, how distancing can be maintained and the measures that need to be taken to keep their staff and pupils safe whilst ensuring the highest level of education.

Luckily, the experiences of the last few months have shown that the Education sector is resilient and able to deal with challenges despite adversity. A blended-learning model has already been put into effect. Anecdotal evidence from many of our clients within the sector has labelled the model as a success, meaning this model could continue to be used from September to ensure everyone’s safety without interrupting the vital education of learners.