Blog Posts

We have been disappointed to see the government messaging around their announcement this week of 300 ‘new’ School Based Nurseries (SBNs).  The implication that SBNs offer a higher quality provision than existing Private or Charitable providers is both frustrating and untrue, and the push to have younger and younger children in the school system is concerning. 

We welcome the expansion of Early Years places, particularly in areas where there is a lack of provision and for the lowest income households when we know that these children will most benefit from attending provision at a younger age.  Unfortunately the current funding system favours those from households where both parents are working, missing out on the very children that need Early Years provision most.

The assumption that children are best served by schools is an insult to the hard working staff already in the sector.  All early years settings are held to the same standards as enforced by Ofsted and follow the same statutory guidance in the EYFS (childminders have a slightly different EYFS but the standards are the same).  All settings are required to have their own curriculum which Ofsted assess on.  In fact, early years provision which is part of a school (i.e. registered within the school’s provision) is subject to a much less rigorous Ofsted inspection than a similar provider (perhaps even on the school grounds) which is registered separately.  A stand-alone provision Ofsted inspection is usually 6 hours minimum, whereas early years provision  registered within a school will be a tiny part of the school’s overall inspection.

We also question the financial viability of provision being run by schools. Unless they are going to exclusively use the Qualified Teacher ratios of 1:13 for 3 and 4 year olds (which still requires a fully qualified Level 3 practitioner to be present) it is hard to see how the numbers will stack up once the initial ‘set up’ grants have been exhausted.  In our county we have many charitable settings and for some years the Local Authority advised settings who were struggling to form a committee to consider being taken over by the local school.  This policy changed in the last few years as those schools who had taken on provision found it unaffordable as staff had to be on LA pay scales and pay into expensive LA pension schemes. (see the Childcare Sufficiency Duty Report 2024  page 33 paragraph 2).  The numbers only work if staff are kept on low pay and statutory benefits.

Bridget Philipson stated that “School-based early education tends to be more inclusive – with a higher proportion of children with special educational needs than other settings.”  Whilst this might be the case compared to some private day nurseries (particularly the large chains) this is certainly not borne out in our experiences of our PATA Members and our own settings.  In our settings we have a high number of children with significant needs and it is very unfair to suggest that we do not cater to and support these children.  We spend a huge amount of time completing the meetings and paperwork required for additional support, often without any additional funding.  This most benefits the school later receiving the child as the legwork of getting an EHCP has already been done.

We agree that quality early education is the key to school readiness but we don’t believe that this is better delivered by school based provision.  All early years settings work hard to ensure that their preschoolers are prepared for the move to Reception, but it should be noted that School Readiness is a goal for the end of Reception not the start (see EYFS page 7).  Reception is part of the EYFS and the EYFS Profile check is carried out at the end of this year not the start.  We already hear of Reception teachers under pressure to get children sitting for long periods and undertaking activities that are not in the spirit of the Play based focus of the EYFS and we have grave concerns about the ‘schoolification’ of nursery provision where it is run by teachers who have little or no real understanding of the differences in the EYFS.    June O’Sullivan of LEYF co-wrote a report on the Twoness of Twos (see here for a podcast discussing this) and it’s really important for SBN leaders to understand that 2 year olds (and younger children in some cases) are not just smaller 6 and 7 year olds.  They are at distinct developmental stages and require distinctive care and education support which may be completely alien to a school setting.

Overall the messaging of the government this week has been that School Based Nurseries are good and anything else is substandard provision.  We strongly dispute this and encourage the government to reconsider their messaging.  Early years educators work extremely hard for low pay and to be told by the government that they are not doing enough or not supporting children is doing them a great disservice.

Considering the crucial role PVI providers will have in the continued implementation of the early entitlement expansion for younger children, we are calling on the government to reconsider their messaging and recognise the vital and valuable contribution of early years educators and reflect this with investment in the sector. 

We are contacting our local MPs about this and encourage you to do so too.

We monitor all Ofsted reports for Early Years settings in Gloucestershire and there have been a number recently where curriculum has been highlighted.  In some cases this is because there isn’t a curriculum in place or it isn’t adequate, or because practitioners aren’t able to explain it to the inspector.  We also understand that under the new Ofsted inspection framework due in the late Autumn (which Ofsted are currently consulting on) it’s likely that you will be asked about your curriculum in the pre-visit phone calls.

We know that for many small settings being asked to ‘write’ a curriculum can seem like a daunting challenge, but hopefully we can help you to break it down and see that you probably already have something in place.  If you’ve got a great curriculum that you’re happy with, keep reading for some tips on supporting staff during inspections!

Essentially your curriculum is what you want the children in your care to learn in the time that you have them.  It has its roots in the EYFS and documents such as Development Matters or Birth to Five but these aren’t detailed enough or specific enough to your cohort. It’s delivered through the style of teaching that you use (your pedagogy), for example ‘Planning in the Moment’ or the ‘Curiosity Approach’ but again these are pedagogies and not curricula.

The DfE says that to write your curriculum “you will need to:

• understand what children already know and can do
• identify what you want children to learn and why you want them to learn it now
• ensure the curriculum is holistic and supports the development of all areas of learning, particularly in developing language and extending vocabulary (one of the three prime areas)
• plan how will you work in partnership with parents and carers, and other professionals where relevant”

Source: https://help-for-early-years-providers.education.gov.uk/support-for-practitioners/curriculum-planning

Do I need to write a long formal document?

The short answer to this is no!  In fact there’s no requirement for you to have a written curriculum at all.  However, if you don’t have anything written down you will need to be very certain that your whole team fully understand and can explain what the curriculum is.  This is a big ask, especially for inexperienced staff or anyone new to your setting.

It can be great to get your team involved in writing the curriculum – you can identify together the aims for your setting and this can make it feel more ‘organic’ rather than something imposed on them.  In one of our settings they have a display board with the curriculum laid out.  Staff are constantly adding post-it notes with ideas and suggestions which can be debated and incorporated.  No child will ‘complete’ the curriculum.

How will staff remember the curriculum when an inspector asks them?

Firstly, they aren’t going to have to recite it in minute detail, but they will need to be able to talk confidently, show that they understand what a curriculum is and explain how they are using it in practice.

If you’ve involved staff in developing the curriculum it will be much easier for them to talk about it and explain it.  If it’s seen as a ‘live’ document which is talked about and referenced regularly they will be more confident.  And there’s nothing wrong with having prompts on the walls which staff can show to an inspector to help them to explain.  As we said above, one of our settings has a big display with the whole curriculum sequenced, another has small reminders around the room. 

In an inspection last year a practitioner mentioned to the inspector that they have visual reminders up of what the curriculum is and the inspector liked it so much she asked for a copy! 

If you don’t yet have a curriculum or aren’t confident that it is ‘enough’ we have a ‘Creating a Curriculum’ workshop running this Thursday (3^rd April) from 6 – 8pm.  There are still a few places left so you can book here.  It’ll be a very friendly, practical session, with no judgement about your starting point or what you’ve done (or not done) so far.   You can book here: PATA (UK) - Workshop - Creating a Curriculum

Other useful resources: 

Blog post on ‘Build your own curriculum’  from FAMLY here  

Article explaining briefly what a curriculum is from the Department for Education here

Creating an inclusive environment in an Early Years setting is essential for fostering the development of all learners, especially children aged 2 to 5.

Inclusivity promotes a sense of belonging, boosts self-esteem, and encourages positive social interactions. As a qualified SEND lead and tutor with over 16 years' experience in the education sector, I have seen first-hand how inclusive settings can help develop the cognitive, language and social skills of their children. But what is an inclusive setting? I see this as an environment where every child, regardless of background, abilities or needs, can flourish and have equal opportunities to succeed.

These children will feel good about themselves, feel safe and feel seen. It can be challenging to meet the needs of all children, but an inclusive environment will do its very best to do so and adapt where needed. With a welcoming and inclusive approach, nursery and play school settings can create a foundation for success and well-being that lasts well beyond the Early Years. 

In May, I will be leading a training session with PATA that will give you the opportunity to explore the importance of creating an inclusive environment in-depth. I will demonstrate how such settings can benefit children and share practical strategies to implement inclusivity effectively. This session will be full of hints, tips and humour along the way! We will look at differentiated learning resources, adapted environments, inclusive language, diversity and how to utilise specialised support. Sometimes it can feel challenging when trying to identify a child's needs, so we will also discuss the importance of external referrals, assessments and how varied the developmental milestones can be. 

You can see information about the course and book here.

I have loved collaborating with PATA to offer training opportunities that are designed to work and adapt with your unique setting. Each and every learning space is different, as is every child, so working together and taking from these sessions what works for you and your children is key.

I really look forward to seeing you there or at another of my training sessions soon.

Kelly Turner

Ofsted have launched their consultation on the changes to the way that inspections are carried out.  They want to know views on their proposed plans for inspecting school and other settings, including views on the report card system they are proposing. 

A few thoughts:

• the consultation information is written as though addressing parents, but it's clear that they also want the opinions of professionals involved (which is you!).  Some sections are marked for professionals only and proposals 4 and 5 only relate to state funded schools.
• There's an acknowledgement that they need to re-set their relationship which they say they have already started in terms of openness.  They share a link to their Inspector training through the Ofsted Academy.
• Ofsted talk about the need to recognise that they will inspect sectors differently 'to recognise their priorities and contexts'. They split out Early Years from schools - but we know that provision under a school's registration is currently inspected very differently from e.g. PVIs.  If the School based nurseries expansion increases will this create a wider gulf? 
• They talk about taking context into better account (which we welcome) and sharing excellent practice. 
• They are open that they intend to focus on experiences and outcomes for disadvantaged children as if the provision is right for them it will work for everyone.  This is an interesting concept!

The consultation runs until the 28th April, with the outcome of consultation due in the summer

Changes are planned to come into force in November 2025.   

Proposal 1 – Report cards

Aim is to give a more nuanced view than the ‘overall effectiveness’ grade we currently still have in EY.  This is positive although there are questions about this will impact on funding as there are currently restrictions for EY providers with RI or inadequate.

The report card system was much more popular with parents in the Big Listen consultation than with professionals, who preferred a bullet point or narrative style judgement.

Proposal is a 5 point scale to grade different areas of work and alongside this a short description summarising the findings.

See a video on this here: https://youtu.be/bAlfI3nHTxI

For EY the areas proposed are:  

• leadership and governance
• curriculum
• developing teaching
• achievement
• behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines
• children’s welfare and well-being
• inclusion
• safeguarding

This compares to the current areas which are:

• overall effectiveness
• the quality of education
• behaviour and attitudes
• personal development
• leadership and management

They say that these areas have been chosen so that they can answer the question ‘what is it like to be a child… in this provider’ which is something identified as important by children in the Big Listen.

The intention of the report card is to make it easy for parents to compare providers and they specify that ‘parents should be able to compare their local registered early years settings with early years provision in schools…’   which is interesting given the current differences in inspection!

The five point scale is proposed as:

• Exemplary (highest quality provision)
• Strong
• Secure
• Attention needed
• Causing concern (lowest quality provision)

They expect that most providers will fall in the middle 3 categories with the top one being reserved for truly excellent practice which will potentially be shared through the Ofsted Academy and will be moderated and confirmed by the national quality and consistency panel. The use of 5 categories gives more scope as they rightly say – the current Good judgement covers everything from just out of RI to almost Outstanding.  This allows for more nuance.

They talk about shining a spotlight on areas that need improvement rather than a floodlight on the whole provision.

Safeguarding would still be met or not met.

They are also proposing to include data alongside the report cards on the context of the setting.  This is to help people make national and local comparisons and compare those working in similar contexts.  The data could include characteristics of children/learners including those who are disadvantaged and those with SEND, outcomes (performance data and trends in this) absence and attendance and local area data.  There is no comment in the information about whether these would all apply to early years.

Proposal 2: Education inspection toolkits

These are a replacement for Inspection frameworks and will contain the standards against which Ofsted will inspect.  Inspectors will have operating guides and specific training to help them apply the toolkits to different types of provision. They describe the quality expected at each point on the scale and set out the range of standards of education and care.

You can view the EY Inspection toolkit here: Early years inspection toolkit

This includes all the areas and is worth having a look at.  There is a lot there!  In particular look at developing teaching and attainment.   Inclusion is thoroughly embedded with each area having an inclusion element as well as inclusion as its own area.

Specifically for Early Years Ofsted say: “The Big Listen feedback told us to adapt our inspection practices to be bespoke and proportionate to the size of settings and the number of hours they care for children. The early years toolkit builds on our existing strong principles while aiming to be more flexible and adaptable to various settings, including childminders and out-of-school providers.”  There is a question then about if the toolkit will be suitable for different types of providers.

Proposal 3: Inspection methodology

This is about the process of inspection and how Ofsted will instil their core values of professionalism, courtesy, empathy and respect.   With a few exceptions, the reports that we’ve heard of recent inspections (and our own experience) have been that the tone of inspections has already changed.  They feel more compassionate and collaborative which is something to be applauded.

There will still be an initial phone or video conversation with leaders.  This will start to build relationships, understand the context and explore strengths and areas that leaders are working on.   For schools they are removing the ‘deep dive’ methodology.   

Start point will be discussing and observing the providers work against the secure column.  Leadership of each area is prioritised first, along with inclusive practice.

If the emerging grade for an evaluation area is at odds with the leaders’ views the inspector will ask them who else they should speak to in order to gather evidence within the time available. Professional dialogue between inspectors and leaders will be a priority.

Proposals 4 and 5 are specifically about state funded schools and don’t apply to stand-alone early years provision.

Their summary is as follows:

• replace the section ‘grading scale used for inspection judgements’ with the 5-point scale and remove the ‘overall effectiveness’ section
• replace the section ‘key judgements’ with the new evaluation areas for each education remit
• replace the section ‘what inspectors will consider when making judgements’ with information about our new methodology and links to the relevant toolkit
• explain the purpose and intended impact of our education inspections

The proposals in this consultation aim to improve the experience of inspections for professionals and practitioners in our sectors.

Over the next few months, we will be assessing the impact of our proposed reforms on leaders’, practitioners’ and inspectors’ workloads, mental health and well-being, through visits to providers and external review.

In the meantime, we want to hear your views about the likely implications of our proposals.

There are then questions about workload as they are keen not to increase this, and also about any potential unintended consequences. 

The main issues that we can see are as follows:

• The continued disparity between school-based provision where the EY inspection is a tiny fraction of the whole school inspection and not in any way as in depth as a stand along provision.  There is no recognition of this, but where the EY provision is registered under the school registration it’s not clear how this could be rectified.
• Are there unintended consequences of the contextualisation?  Would it influence providers decisions on who to accept in a setting?
• Are the areas (particularly developing teaching and achievement) really the best for EY?
• How will funding decisions be made (where currently RI or Inadequate means no additional children with funding). 
• The ‘toolkit’ appears very onerous on leaders.  Will this make it even harder for settings to get willing committees or lead to more frustration for managers working under ineffective committees?
• This is a lot of work and major overhaul.  Will it really be ready to go live in November? 

This link has lots of information including the sample toolkits, a video explaining the consultation and the consultation itself: Improving the way Ofsted inspects education - GOV.UK

Today is World Mental Health Day and the focus this year is on prioritising mental health in the workplace.

The Health & Safety Executive say that around half of work related ill-health is down to stress, depression or anxiety and that the law requires all employers to prevent work-related stress and support good mental health in the workplace by doing a risk assessment and acting on it.

We know that many staff members and managers over the last few years have found it particularly difficult and are feeling worn down and tired out.

We also know that most people working in the early years and play sectors are doing it because it’s something that they really believe in and where they feel they can make a difference.  Add in that feeling of there never being enough time or enough money in settings, and a workforce who often have other caring responsibilities outside of work, are generally on low incomes and may be facing their own health challenges - it’s amazing that any of us are still making it in to work!

So as a part of this workforce (either a manager, committee member or part of a team) what can you do to support your team?

At PATA over the last few years we’ve introduced a number of things to try to support staff wellbeing, but much as we’d like to, we can’t magic up a big budget to bring in lots of initiatives so like most charities, it has to be done on a shoestring.

So what have we done to put wellbeing and supporting mental health front and centre that you might also be able to implement?

• At our ‘first day of term’ inset day we had the main session on wellbeing with lots of practical suggestions from the speaker.  We’ve reminded staff of these over the last few weeks including sending out hand cream to settings as one of the activities was a calming hand massage.  You might not be able to have an inset day but could you ask a staff member to run a short activity in a staff meeting?
• Our Supervisions include questions on wellbeing – both in setting and in your home life and we really encourage all managers to have open conversations on this with their staff.
• We got some staff trained as Mental Health First Aiders.  Sometimes it’s good to have a designated person who isn’t a manager available for a chat.  They aren’t mental health professionals, but they do have some tools available to signpost to and are a listening ear.  There are still free Level 3 courses around for this if you want to get someone trained.
• We have a ‘Wellbeing section’ on our staff website with lots of links to resources that staff can access to support their wellbeing both in and out of work.  You might not have a website where you can do this but you could have a board somewhere at work – even if it’s on the back of the toilet door!
• We have a ‘Wellness Access plan’ template available for staff to use.  This can either be done on their own or worked through with their manager.  It can help to identify small changes that can be made to support their workplace experience. As a PATA Member you can access this in the Wellbeing Section of the PATA Members Area (within Employees & Recruitment here) 
• We signpost to lots of different websites and organisations that offer wellbeing support – we aren’t trained mental health workers and sometimes people need support from specialist services.  Being able to signpost effectively and having staff know that it’s ok to ask/talk about something but that you might not be the right person to help them is a great part of an open and supportive culture.  

We definitely don’t have all the answers and we’d love to hear what you have put in place and what has worked or not worked!

Below are some links that you might find helpful, and don’t forget that we can organise bespoke training including on wellbeing for your staff.  Just get in touch at training@pataglos.org.uk

Useful links:

Marie Curie: Bereavement Support: https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/help/support/bereaved-family-friends/work/employee-resources

GDASS: Supporting victims of domestic abuse - https://www.gdass.org.uk/

Healthy Lifestyles Gloucester: Supporting healthy choices - https://hlsglos.org/

Mental Health Foundation: supporting mental health - https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/

If Morton Michel are your insurers for your setting, your staff can access a free 24/7 counselling helpline on 0333 000 2082. The helpline is run by ARAG qualified counsellors and are able to provide telephone support on any matter causing upset or anxiety – from personal problems to bereavement. If longer term support is required, you can be assigned to a counsellor to for weekly/ fortnightly meetings for up to 6 sessions.

With the time pressures of working in Early Years and Play settings, it is often difficult for setting Managers, Owners & Committees to keep abreast of the continual changes to employment law. We have put together a summary of key employment changes to be prepared for and how they might affect the running of your setting.

Minimum Wage Increases and Age Band Changes – 1 April 2024

From 1^st April the National Minimum / Living Wage (NMW / NLW) increases became effective and the age bands changed as below:

• NLW for workers aged 21 and over                                       : £11.44 per hour
• NMW for workers aged 18 – 20                                              : £  8.60 per hour
• Young workers aged 16 – 17                                                  : £  6.40 per hour
• Apprentice rate (19 or over and in 2^nd year onwards)            : £  8.60 per hour
• Apprentice rate (aged under 19 or 19+ and in 1^st year)         : £  6.40 per hour

Remember to check your staff ages as the NLW age band has reduced to 21 and over (previously 23 and over) and the new rates became effective from the 1^st April, not the date of your payroll.  Don’t forget to budget for the additional pension and employers NI contributions (where applicable) and if a salary increase is applicable a new contract variation letter will need to be sent to each employee.

Statutory Holiday Pay & Holiday Accrual – 1 April 2024

The rules on holiday pay have changed meaning that for people working irregular hours, or who are part year workers, rolled up holiday pay (where holiday is paid in the same pay period that it is accrued) is permitted and a 12.07% accrual method for calculating holiday pay will apply.  It must be clear on the employee’s payslip each month what is ‘normal’ pay and what is holiday pay.

The rules changed from 1^st April 2024, but can only be applied to a new ‘leave year’.  If your leave year, like ours, starts in September, this won't apply until 1^st September 2024. 

Note: Rolled up holiday does not mean a pay rate that includes holiday entitlement.

Flexible Working – 6 April 2024

Previously any employee who had worked in an organisation for 26 weeks or longer was entitled to make one formal flexible working request during any 12-month period. The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 came into effect from 6^th April 2024 and this means the following:

Employees:

• have the right to request flexible working from day one of employment.
• can submit two flexible working requests in any 12-month period.
• no longer need to explain the effect the change will make to the employer and how this may be dealt with.

Employers:

• must respond within 2 months (previously 3 months).
• must consult with employees before a flexible working request can be refused, including exploring alternative options.

ACAS have produced a draft Code of Practice on handling requests for flexible working which can be found on the link here. 

This Code provides guidance to employers and employees on the statutory right to request flexible working as set out in the Employment Rights Act 1996 (as amended) and regulations made under it.

Having a clear policy and procedure for handling statutory requests for flexible working can be helpful in making everyone aware of what is expected even if you already operate an informal flexible working request system.

Carer’s Leave Act 2023 – 6 April 2024

This is a new act that allows employees with caring responsibilities to take one week’s unpaid leave per year to give or arrange care for a dependant who has:

• a physical or mental illness or injury that means they’re expected to need care for more than 3 months
• a disability (as defined in the Equality Act 2010)
• care needs because of old age

A dependant could be a spouse, civil partner, child, parent or person who lives in the same household as the employee and relies on them for care.

This is a day one right (i.e. it applies from the first day of employment) and the following applies:

• The leave is unpaid if taken.
• The leave can be taken as half days, full days or in blocks.
• Entitlement is one week in a rolling 12 month period.  (If an employee works 4 days per week, they can take 4 days of carer’s leave.)
• Notice of a minimum of 3 days must be given for a half or one full days’ leave. If the request is for more than one day, the notice period must be at least double the time requested e.g. 2 days requested, 4 days’ notice must be given.
• The request does not have to be in writing.
• Employees do not need to give evidence of their dependent’s care needs.
• Employers cannot refuse a request for carer’s leave but they can ask the employee to take it at a different time.  This can only be done if the employee’s absence would cause serious disruption to the setting.  If delayed the employer must:
• • agree another date within one month of the requested date for leave
  • put the reason for the delay and the new date in writing to the employee within 7 days of the original request, and before the requested start date of the leave.

We know that a lot of employees in the early years and play sector do have caring responsibilities and that lots of settings are already flexible and where possible (taking account of ratios) accommodate staff needs. As such, you are probably already meeting the requirements of this new legislation.  You should ensure that your policies reflect this and are applied consistently and fairly.

Paternity Leave - April 2024

The Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 came into force in April.  The changes aim to make paternity leave more flexible for parents.

Parents now have the option to split their two weeks of statutory paternity pay into two separate week-long blocks.  These can be taken at any point in the 12 months after the birth (or placement in the case of adoption) and the parent only has to give 28 days notice of when they want to take the leave. 

Previously it was necessary to give 15 weeks notice in advance of the expected birth or adoption date of the dates when the parent intended to take the leave.  Now they must notify the employer of their eligibility 15 weeks before the expected birth or adoption date, but only need to give 28 days notice of the actual dates that they intend to take.

Redundancy Protection – 6 April 2024

The Protection from Redundancy Act (Pregnancy and Family Leave) came into force on 6^th April 2024. This means that employees who are pregnant or returning from maternity, adoption or shared parental leave will gain priority status for redeployment opportunities in a redundancy situation for a period of up to 18 months after the birth of the child (the actual amount depends on the type of leave taken). This is extending the right which previously only applied to those on maternity, shared parental leave or adoption leave.

Priority status means that these employees should have priority access to redeployment opportunities over other redundant employees. It doesn’t mean that they can’t be made redundant at all.

We recommend that you update your policy to reflect this extension of the redundancy protection but if you find yourself in this situation, we strongly recommend that you take professional advice.

IR35 – 6 April 2024

This is related to self-employed contractors and PAYE. It shouldn’t be an issue as you shouldn’t have anyone self-employed in a setting.  If you have, contact us for more information.

TUPE consultation – 1 July 2024

From 1 July 2024, settings with fewer than 50 employees undergoing TUPE transfers will be able to consult directly with employees if no representative is in place already.

Predictable Working Pattern – expected September 2024

This act relates to employees whose hours of work lack predictability such as agency workers, those on zero-hour contracts or contracts that specify core hours that can be varied according to an organisation’s needs.

The Act applies to any worker where there is a lack of predictability in relation to the work that the worker does for the employer or in regard to any part of the worker’s work pattern. This covers a range of things including the number of hours worked, the days of the week worked, the times worked on those days, and the length of the contract.

Whilst employers will have a requirement to respond within a month to such requests, it does not mean that employees will have their working pattern automatically changed. It is only a right to request a change. Employees can only make a request twice in a 12-month period and only for certain circumstances. It is anticipated that there will also be a requirement for employees to have worked a minimum of 26 weeks for the employer, and 12 weeks continuously in that time. Employers should follow an appropriate procedure to ensure the statutory rights of the employee. A consultation on the accompanying statutory code ran until January and the responses are currently being reviewed. Until the final version of this is published you can find the draft code here. 

This is unlikely to affect many settings as even for bank staff who may be on zero-hour contracts, the timings and days will be relatively consistent.

Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act - expected date TBC (possibly 2024, more likely April 2025)

Under this Act, employees who are parents of premature babies who are cared for in a health setting for more than one week before they reach 28 days of life will be entitled to 12 weeks of additional paid leave.

This legislation will apply to employees who have been employed for a minimum of 26 weeks prior to leave being requested with an average earning of least £123 a week.

Other employment legislation to look out for which may affect some Early Years or Play settings:

Immigration - expected Spring 2024

There have been a number of announcements aimed at restricting work migration from Spring 2024:

• Increasing the minimum salary requirements under skilled worker route
• Removing the salary discount for jobs on the shortage occupation list
• Increasing the financial threshold for family applications

Should any settings utilise these programmes they should revisit their policies and practices in these areas as it is foreseen that settings using these will incur increased costs.

Fire and rehire – expected Spring 2024

The final version of the Statutory Code of Practice on Fire and Rehire is expected Summer 2024.

Christmas is coming and social media is full of hundreds of craft activities, outings and reels of beautiful children dressing beautiful trees.  Settings have tough trays of Christmas themed activities and home corners have become Elf workshops.

But is this really what our children need?

Without wanting to sound like a Grinch, honestly I’m not sure.

It’s great to enter into the Christmas spirit and you probably wouldn’t be working in early years or play if you weren’t a fan of glitter and dressing up, but as we build our children’s cultural capital here are a few things to be aware of:

1. Are we suggesting that Father Christmas and the presents he brings are linked to behaviour?  It’s really easy to slip into the ‘be good or your won’t get presents’ mode, but since we all know it isn’t the ‘man in red’ who is providing the presents, we could be setting our children up for disappointment and a sense of failure. There will be children in your setting who won’t be getting presents this year (or maybe any other) because of financial concerns and that has nothing to do with the child’s behaviour.  Or maybe you have children whose families don’t celebrate Christmas so they won’t be getting presents either. 

It's also good to be wary about list writing (even though letters to Father Christmas can be a great writing activity) and particularly about promising that the letter will get to Father Christmas and the child will get those presents.  We’ve all heard of parents scrabbling around for a last minute must have after a surprise request at a late visit to Santa so let’s not add to the pressure by promising that he’ll bring what has been asked for.

Even families who do have the resource to give presents and are celebrating often do it differently. In my family Father Christmas only ever brought presents that went in the stocking, so small things, stationary, chocolate etc.  Some families have the main present from Father Christmas and some say everything under the tree has come on the sleigh.  Let’s not presume we know and be careful with what we imply is ‘correct’.

2.       Are we really being inclusive?  If you have children from different cultures and religions are you inadvertently making them feel ‘less’ because their own traditions aren’t celebrated in the way that Christmas is?  Did you have a tough tray out for one afternoon for Diwali or something short about Eid, then spend 3 or 4 weeks entirely engrossed in Christmas?  Or do you have children from different countries who have alternative stories about Father Christmas?  My children grew up in Eastern Europe with ‘Uncle Christmas and the snow queen’ and were very surprised to find Elves and Rudolph when we came back to the UK.  Several European countries have Sinterklauss which can be a great tradition to incorporate in our celebrations. Make sure you’re giving space for other stories and not presuming (or implying) that your way is ‘right’.

And what about our neurodivergent children?  Are we making sure that they’re able to keep ‘safe’ routines, quiet spaces and not be pushed into joining in things that are for parents benefit and not theirs?

We also need to be mindful of children whose family life isn’t what we might hope for.  The emphasis on Christmas as a family time can bring up all sorts of feelings for these children.  You may have children who are or have been in care, or children who live in homes where life is chaotic or they experience or see domestic violence.  For them Christmas may be a confusing or stressful time.  We can inadvertently add to this unless we’re mindful of what we are doing and saying.  

3.       Are we really being child led?  Some settings are amazing at this all year round, and then come December it’s all about the perfect Christmas card and product over process. We run a Christmas card competition every year and the entries that we put through to the public vote are the ones that look like they’ve had least adult input.  That’s meant we’ve had a Christmas lobster and a snowman squelch but it’s the child’s expression that’s important.   

We know that parents love a Christmas performance and for many it will be the first time seeing their child in this type of activity so there can be a lot of expectation.  Some settings use the Story Telling, Story Acting (Helicopter Stories) method as a more low key way of delivering a nativity.  If your children are used to this approach it can be really effective.  You can see an example of this here.

So hear us right! We’re absolutely not saying don’t celebrate Christmas in all it’s glittery wonder, and we’re absolutely not saying you’re doing things wrongly.  We’re just saying take a step back, make sure everyone is feeling included, that what you’re doing is for the children’s benefit and maybe take a little bit of pressure off yourselves and your families in the run up to Christmas.

Here are some links to resources that you might find helpful:

Descriptions of different traditions from countries around the world: https://www.teachearlyyears.com/learning-and-development/view/christmas-traditions 

Lesson plans and activities that you can use: https://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/Christmas-Around-the-World-Lessons-and-Activities.shtml

Info on supporting children with additional needs and disabilities (also useful for sharing with parents):  https://parents.actionforchildren.org.uk/additional-needs-disabilities/support-home-school/send-christmas/

Domestic violence at Christmas:  https://www.ringroselaw.co.uk/2023/11/21/domestic-abuse-at-christmas-2/

The biggest issue that we’re hearing from settings at the moment is that staff are finding life in setting pretty tough.  This is taking many forms – some due to child behaviour, some due to the number of children presenting with potential SEND and some to do with staff’s own wellbeing.  Unfortunately we don’t have a magic wand to rustle up additional support or funding to make things easier (and we’re pretty sure you don’t either!) but this blog is firstly to say that if this is you, you’re not alone, and secondly to suggest a few practical things that you can try if you haven’t already!

The cohort of children who are now in Early Years settings have undoubtedly been affected by the pandemic.  In their ‘Best start in life Part 1’ document the government say:

“Children in early years settings today will have spent a good proportion of their lives in the pandemic. They have had fewer opportunities for social interaction beyond their immediate family because of lockdowns and social restrictions. Our research into education recovery in early years providers found that these children’s communication and language skills were not as strong as those of previous cohorts. Their social skills, such as turn-taking and sharing with other children, were also less developed.”

While recognising this doesn’t make dealing with the behaviour any easier, at least we can see where some of it is coming from.  The behaviours and opportunities that these children had in the first months and years was so significantly different from what came before that we almost need to start from scratch with our assumptions and expectations.  It’s also important to remember that every child’s experience of the pandemic, and therefore it’s impacts were different.  Some children benefited from parents on furlough with lots of time to spend in the garden or doing activities with them, some children were effectively locked in flats with no outside space and some families experienced extreme stress.  There is no one common experience, except that life changed.

So if we need to accept that these are children with a completely different early experience, maybe we need to have more flexibility in our thinking about where children ‘should be’.  At the PATA Managed Group inset day back in September, our staff attended training with Tamsin Grimmer on ‘Terrific Two’s’.  At the time some staff probably wondered why they were doing it as they only work in a preschool room, but we know that some of the behaviours we would usually expect in 2 year olds are presenting in the older children.  (You can book a similar course with Tamsin here: www.pataglos.org.uk/event-5327393).  Having the tools to deal with this can help reduce frustration and reframe our thinking on the children that we’re working with.

We can’t get away from the fact that many settings are telling us (including our own PMGs) that more and more children are presenting with what appear to be specific SEN needs.  There’s lots of thinking about why this is, including that we’re just better at identifying them earlier.  We know that there are huge issues in being able to access the support and funding that is really required, and frustration at the level of paperwork required to even get started on this road.  There is some good news – in Gloucestershire we understand that the Educational Psychology team are re-engaged with Early Years and there is an Educational Psychology Services (EPS) daily help line available from 9:30 to 12:30pm on 01452 427070.  We also have various training courses and if there’s something that you are looking for but we aren’t offering, get in touch and we’ll see what we can do.

We sometimes get asked about setting admissions policies to limit the number of children with SEN in a setting and while we understand fully why you might want to do this, we would recommend exercising caution.  You need to balance the right to inclusion against the needs of your existing children and your staff.  Inclusion should always be the first priority and your ‘ordinarily available provision’ should show that you will truly consider the needs of each child and try wherever possible to provide a space for them.  Very occasionally though you may have to say no.  This could be because of a physical barrier – e.g. some settings in older buildings with multiple floors would struggle to accommodate a child in a wheelchair – although you should consider if you can move things around enough to allow this to happen, or occasionally you might need to suggest looking for other provision where the balance of children with e.g. 1:1 support means that you cannot accommodate any more.  We know of one setting who in a cohort of 28 had 6 children who required 1:1. Obviously having an additional 6 adults in the room is going to affect the provision and so either you would need to limit the number of sessions so that all children get some space, or you would help the family to access other local provision. It can also be helpful to ‘spread the load’ with your staff – if a child needs 1:1 support (especially where you don’t have funding) assign different people at different times to support them.  Being 1:1 for a whole day can be incredibly draining and it can be good for a child to have a different approach at different times.

If you are in a position where you are having to make decisions such as this then you must note down objectively why you are making the decision that you are.  This will help you to explain to the parents and also provide evidence of the rationale for your decision.

So what can we do to help staff to keep going?

Reassure that it’s not just them: we’re hearing the same things from many settings and staff that we speak to.

Reset expectations: being realistic about the situation now (and not thinking back to how things have been in the past) can be really helpful in creating a positive environment.

Refresh training to give staff tools to handle the situations that they are in: feeling confident and supported goes a long way to building a strong team.

Reflect – it’s easy to get so head down that you forget the good stuff.  Look for the ‘inch-stones’ instead of the milestones and celebrate the successes however small they might be.

Relax – try and make sure that all staff are sharing the load and getting the time out that they need.  Sometimes someone just needs a few minutes of quiet or a cup of tea and they’re ready to re-set.  Make sure you have a culture of switching off at the end of your working day and encouraging other staff to do the same.

Our last blog in October was about staff wellbeing and highlighted some tools that you can signpost staff to which will support their mental health and general wellbeing.  We strongly recommend having a look at what is available and maybe having some info up in your setting that everyone can access. 

We put a lot of focus on building the resilience of children in our settings but we need to ensure that our staff teams also have tools to help themselves. We know that many people are finding things tough both in and out of work so anything we can put in place to support our staff teams is invaluable.  Let us know if there’s anything that you think PATA could do to help!

Recently PATA were fortunate enough to be invited to a Healthy Workplace event hosted by the VSC Alliance who are an organisation set up to represent the voice of the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises of Gloucestershire.

We went along to the event with interest and were introduced to a whole host of wonderful, useful, free and easy to access services to signpost staff to regarding healthy living and wellbeing, which we wanted to share with you, our members.

In March 2023 AXA conducted a survey about stress in the workplace which highlighted some concerning statistics:

• Work related stress cost the UK £28,000,000,000 in 2022
• 47% of the country are struggling with mental wellbeing.

Early Years and Out of School settings are already stretched for time, resources and money and being able to adequately address the problem of the wellbeing of their staff and volunteers can feel like an insurmountable challenge.  The danger is that it is so overwhelming that it just gets ignored or put to the bottom of a long ‘to-do’ list and it’s never addressed.  With the recruitment and retention issues in the sector (including for managers!) you can’t afford not to be looking after the health and wellbeing of your team.

The NHS mental health and wellbeing provision locally and nationally is already stretched to maximum capacity, with people seeking help being put on waiting lists for up to 6 months or longer to access free or affordable support. This can be soul destroying and worsen the mental health of an individual. Settings need to be able to signpost their staff towards quick, accessible resources that can care for their immediate requirements.

Here are a few options that we’ve heard about which might help:

The Wellbeing Line provides a confidential mental health and wellbeing support for anyone working within health and social care in Gloucestershire.  They confirmed to us that they would include anyone working in the Early Years or Playwork (OOSC) sector in their remit.  It was set up in November 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic to provide support to health and social care staff in a proactive, rapid way. When the initial funding stopped, Gloucestershire ICB (Integrated Care Board) decided that it would fund The Wellbeing Line for another year until March 2024 and they are hoping to continue for the long term as they recognise it as a valuable resource. 

Their phone lines are currently open 9:00am – 4:30pm Monday to Thursdays and 9:00am to 12:30pm on a Friday and there is also an email contact. They say that 100% of their initial contacts are answered within two days and up to 78% of their calls for help are currently responded to in one day.  They did emphasise that they aren’t a crisis service so if you have a staff member in a crisis situation (i.e. they need immediate and urgent help) they should go through the NHS crisis team.

As well as support for individuals they also offer consultations with managers and leaders, which might be you looking for advice on how to support a team member, or something more specific or at an organisational level. Their wellbeing team also run health and wellbeing champions forums which you can take part in (so why not have someone from within your setting designated as the champion).

 

The service can be accessed confidentially and free of charge on 0300 421 7500, email: hello@thewellbeingline.co.uk or Visit: www.thewellbeingline.co.uk for more information.

As well as addressing mental health issues we all know that our physical health can make a big difference to our daily lives. Healthy Lifestyles Gloucestershire is another proactive service that you can signpost your staff towards with concerns relating to keeping active, alcohol, healthy eating, weight, smoking or even support when you are a mum to be or mum  returning to work and struggling to keep up with work, baby and life beyond.

Staff will be contacted within 3 working days of signing up and the Healthy Lifestyles team will provide them with weekly support (for up to 12 weeks) in person, over the phone or online.

To access the service, you can call 0800 122 3788 or for more information visit www.hslglos.org.

The criteria for accessing this service are that you must be:

• over 18 years of age (12 years of age for smoking cessation support)
• registered with a GP in Gloucestershire or live in a GL postcode (see below if you are outside of this)

The programmes are aimed at those who are either:

• Currently smoking tobacco
• Have a BMI over 25 
• Have current physical activity levels of under 150 minutes per week or
• Approaching alcohol dependency

Although the service is only offered to mainly contacts within GL postcodes, they can help with some additional postcodes within the county as well and Healthy Lifestyles are happy to help you with contacts in other areas that you are operating in as there are similar services set up throughout the UK by local councils.

Alternatively if staff are interested in improving their health but want a more ‘hands off’ approach, they can download a free app called Best-You from the App store or Google Play. You can find out more about the app here: https://www.hlsglos.org/programmes/best-you-app/ 

Healthy Lifestyle Gloucestershire also run MECC (Making Every Contact Count) training which is available for front line staff and volunteers. This will give confidence in everyday situations to give concise health information as part of normal conversations.  This could be particularly helpful for staff who have direct contact with parents who might benefit from this type of support.  This is free training which you can book onto by clicking on the following link Healthy Lifestyles Gloucestershire Events | Eventbrite.  If you want to find out more about MECC you can see an NHS document here https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/making-every-contact-count.pdf

Health and wellbeing at work can be affected by other things going on in staff’s home life and whilst we can’t fix everything, knowing where to signpost to can be helpful.  At the event we listened to a presentation from ARA Gambling Service who provide support for those affected by gambling, either as an individual or as the family of someone with a gambling issue.  ARAG can be contacted by

Email: info@recovery4all.co.uk, Social media: @ARArecovery4all or for more information you can visit www.recovery4all.co.uk

To bring together information about all these services for your staff, you may find it useful to write a wellbeing policy to support your setting. The Healthy Workplace Gloucestershire, a free initiative (funded through the public health service) provides advice and help to guide you through how to adapt your policies and procedures to optimise the wellbeing of your staff/volunteers within your setting.

Most settings will already be supporting their staff through all sorts of ways, including organising team social outings, mental health and mindfulness awareness, regular team meetings, supervisions and your employee and volunteer contract pack with induction when they commence employment with you. If you want to consider all the wellbeing support that you offer and maybe improve it where needed then you might want to join the Health Workplace Awards.

This is a scheme that guides you through the information you may already have in place and helps you to focus on areas that need improving. Similar in style to Investors in People, this is a free of charge scheme. You can become accredited with a Foundation Level Award and if successful implementing this scheme within your organisation, you may like to go on and complete the Enhanced Level Award. Once the award is achieved you can add the award logo to your social media, website and policy documents. The scheme can help support you with initiatives you would like to implement within your organisation, such as Health and Safety, Back Pain and Prevention, Alcohol and substance misuse, Mental Wellbeing and Stress, Personal Health, Healthy Eating, Stop Smoking and Physical Activity. To sign up to the awards programme and for further information on Healthy Lifestyles Gloucestershire visit www.hwglos.org

If you are interested in developing your health and wellbeing within your organisation but do not have the funding, the VCS Alliance have launched their new funding initiative called Small Grants for Workplace Wellbeing which opened this week.

The VCS Alliance are inviting applications from the VSCE sector groups and organisations in Gloucestershire seeking to implement ideas that support employer / and or volunteer wellbeing. A maximum of 40 grants will be given to successful applicants worth £500.

The criteria to apply are as follows:

• Your application must have a clear rationale for how your proposal is linked to wellbeing. Examples include: A team day or social event, Coaching sessions, Backfill to enable an organisation to work towards the Healthy Workplace award, Personal wellbeing, Entry to sports facilities, Entry to green spaces, Access to a wellbeing app
• One application per organisation
• Turnover less than £500,000
• You must have a business bank account
• Grant must be spent by 31^st January 2024
• The money can’t be used to fund any service or treatment that should be provided by the NHS

If you are interested in applying for the grant, you can click on the following link Small Grants for Workplace Wellbeing Application Form (smartsurvey.co.uk)

Don’t forget to log in to the PATA members area of the website where you can access other wellbeing resources, which are being added to on an ongoing basis.

If Morton Michel are your insurers for your setting, your staff can access a free 24/7 counselling helpline on 0333 000 2082. The helpline is run by ARAG qualified counsellors and are able to provide telephone support on any matter causing upset or anxiety – from personal problems to bereavement. If longer term support is required, you can be assigned to a counsellor to for weekly/ fortnightly meetings for up to 6 sessions.

If this all seems like a lot to do then don’t panic!  You’re probably doing a lot for staff wellbeing already and it might be helpful to have a session where you and your team note down all the ways that you already help.  Using this list you can then develop either a policy or a place where staff can access resources like the ones mentioned above.  You could also have a wellbeing ‘slot’ in all of your team meetings, where you mention one way that you’re offering support, which will really start to develop an ethos of openness and emphasise the importance of wellbeing. 

Our Finance Manager recently attended a webinar on the National Minimum Wage, which was run by an HMRC inspector who specialises in compliance in the Early Years sector.  Below is some information from the session, which we think might be relevant to our member settings.  Have a read and if you have any questions get in touch in the normal way!

The Minimum Wage (MW) relates to rates of pay in a Pay Reference Period (PRP),which is the period of time for which someone is paid either weekly, fortnightly, 4-weekly or monthly.  MW must be paid for all time worked in each PRP.  Failure to pay the MW for all time worked in a single PRP means there has been an underpayment.

Employers are unable to average pay across different PRPs to show the MW has been paid, with the exception of workers who are performing “salaried hours” work.

The two main types of workers in early years settings are Salaried and Timed (hourly paid) and later in the blog you will find additional information which covers term time working.

“Salaried hours” workers:  

This is not as simple as earning a salary (nothing is ever simple!). Four conditions must be met and salaried hours workers are:

• entitled under their contract to be paid for a set basic number of hours in a year. (HMRC would expect to see the annual number of hours detailed in the contract.)
• entitled under their contract to an annual salary for those basic hours. (HMRC would expect to see the annual salary amount detailed in the contract.)
• not entitled under their contract to any other payment for their basic hours other than the salary.
• not paid more often than weekly or less often than monthly. Acceptable frequencies are weekly, fortnightly, 4-weekly or monthly.

The definition of pay for HMRC purposes is actual money paid to an employee before any deductions are made. Keep in view that pay for MW purposes does not include overtime payments, allowances, expenses, benefits in kind or advances on wages.

Timed Worker Example:

Employee is paid £9.50 per hour and works 142 hours per month.  This is made up of:

• 140 hours at £9.50 per hour = £1,330
• 2 hours overtime at £14.25 per hour (time and half) = £28.50

Total paid £1358.50.

When assessing MW, the calculation is stripped back to the lowest rate of pay for all hours worked in the PRP, so checks would be made to ensure the rate of pay for the 142 hours was no less than £9.50 per hour.  £1358.50 / 142 hours = £9.56.  So this is ok.

Warning: For timed workers earning MW, any unpaid working time issues or deductions may result in an underpayment.

Special allowances over and above standard pay: i.e. performs special duties over and above normal duties, don’t count towards MW unless consolidated into an employee’s pay. An example of this would be where someone might get a fixed payment each month for doing SEND for example, that wouldn’t count, but if their rate of pay reflected the additional SEND duties then that would be fine. However, rather unhelpfully there is no definition to determine when an allowance is consolidated into standard pay.

Example: Attendance bonus at Christmas of £100.

• Pay 120 hours at £9.50 per hour plus £100 bonus = £1240.00 pay in PRP.

For MW purposes only £1140 is considered (bonus not consolidated into her pay): £1140 / 120 hours = £9.50. So this is ok.

Deductions:

Some deductions can take pay below MW for PRP.  For example: deduction for items or expenses connected to the job. i.e. uniform.

Exemptions include accidental overpayment of wages that are deducted or voluntary payments for goods.

Here are a few worked examples which relate to early years and childcare settings:

Example: Setting has a dress code policy.

• Employee paid at MW is given 3 tops free of charge but told to wear black trousers and black shoes.
• Employee spends £30 on trouser & £60 on shoes: Total £90.

The employee could use the items outside of work but the cost was incurred in connection with their employment. The employee has a reduction in pay of £90, and therefore there will be an underpayment for MW purposes.

Possible Solutions:

• Employer reimburses the employee with the cost of the work-related purchases or
• Employer does not specify a required uniform. 

(PATA are reviewing our Clothing and Appearance guidelines on the back of this information).

Example: Nursery Fees deducted from an employee’s pay who is paid MW.

• 120 hours @ £9.75 per hour: £1,170
• Nursery fees £360 deducted from salary
• Gross pay £1,170 - £360 = £810

For MW purposes £810 / 120 hours = £6.75 which is an underpayment.

Solution: employee pays for the nursery services outside of her payslip (cash/Bacs) (like other parents/carers) and as there is no obligation on the employee to use the services provided (as they could use a different playgroup/nursery) this is ok.

Example: Training costs deducted from an employee’s pay who is paid MW. Common for employers to recoup training costs from employees if they leave in a certain time of attending training. If training was mandatory then deduction may reduce pay for MW purposes.

Voluntary training is where a worker chooses further training in their field, it’s not a requirement of the job but the employer agrees to fund it.  A deduction for voluntary training would NOT reduce pay for MW purposes provided this arrangement is in the employment contract.

Example: A charge for DBS WON’T reduce pay for MW but the admin charge for a DBS is passed to the employee that would reduce pay for MW.

Salary sacrifice can reduce pay for MW purposes, including salary sacrifice pensions.

Working Time:

Working time includes time spent at work or waiting for work.

We recommend keeping records of working times to demonstrate daily working hours.

Small periods of unpaid working time can directly lead to underpayments of MW for workers at or close to MW pay rates.

Example: Employee paid MW rate. Told to arrive 10 mins before shift start time and expected to start work immediately. This is still classed as working time! Unpaid working time often involves a small amount of time but has a cumulative effect if occurring on a regular basis. If these 10 minutes are not paid then the employee will be underpaid.

If an employee chooses to come in early/stay late to complete work then these hours still count as working time. If you don’t want to pay them, then it’s a conduct issue and you need to ask the member of staff not to do this.

It’s fine to ask staff to be ready to work at their start time (i.e. coat off, bag in staff area, finished cup of tea and chat etc!)  But if for example your session starts at 9am and you only pay your staff from that time, but they are (understandably) coming in at 8.45am every day so that they can set up before the session, this would be classed as an underpayment.

Other examples – team meetings after business hours, staying late for parents late to pick up children, training at home, travelling between sites (not usual commute), travel time for training, completing admin outside of working hours.

Do you have to pay training if it’s optional and voluntary? No, provided you have an audit trail to demonstrate that it is strictly optional and voluntary.

Term Time Working:

Can we pay employees a fixed amount per month even though some months they will be working more or less hours? (i.e. a salary which is 1/12^th of annual hours.)

Answer: Yes. Salaried hours provide flexibility on how hours are worked, i.e. employees are not required to work in the school holidays, but are paid an equal part of their annual salary every PRP.

So the employee can be paid a fixed amount each month, to work a fixed number of hours within the year, but the hours within each PRP can vary.

You need to ensure that a worker does not exceed the annual hours otherwise there could be an underpayment.

An employer must keep working time records to be able to demonstrate the MW was paid for the hours worked in total over the year.

Possible consequences:

If an employer fails to correct an underpayment, there is a name and shame policy by HMRC Complaint’s Team together with a penalty fine, which is 200% of any underpayment (reduced by half if it is paid within 14 days).

If however, an employer realises that there has been an underpayment (possibly after reading this blog) and corrects the issue (before any involvement from HMRC), with backdated amendments to pay to correct the underpayment (this is classed as a self-correction) then there will be no penalties for the original underpayment.

Time Off In Lieu (TOIL):

This is when an employee works additional hours (e.g. to complete training out of normal working hours or to cover for a sick colleague on a day they wouldn’t normally work) and keeps the hours to use in a later month when they have a day off sick etc.

This is acceptable for Salaried Workers as the employee is still being paid for all of the hours on their salary calculation. (HMRC were not clear on when TOIL had to be reconciled however, we would do this at the at the end of the academic year and either carry it forward for use in the Autumn Term or paid if this is the employees preference.)

What about Volunteering? 

It is possible for someone in paid employment with a charity to also do voluntary work for the charity, but it must be in a role which is substantially different from their paid role, so that there is no confusion with MW.  Hours spent volunteering which are effectively for work included in an employee’s job description would be included in a MW calculation. 

Staff can’t waiver their MW rights away even if they say they would be happy to!

The main things that we can take away from this are:

• Keep accurate records of time that staff work
• Make sure your staff all have clear contracts with contracted hours and hourly rates set out, along with any other payments or deductions noted
• Review these regularly to make sure that you aren’t dropping staff below MW
• Be clear with staff about what is expected of them (e.g. start times, payment for training, travel expenses, TOIL)
• If you realise that there has been an underpayment rectify it quickly and keep clear records of what you have done, why you have done it and when you did it.

If you have any concerns about the way your salaries are calculated or how you are applying all of the ‘rules’ mentioned in this blog, then speak to our friendly payroll service team who will be only too happy to help.

Remember also that if you are thinking about changing how you do your payroll or moving over to our PATA Payroll Service then April / May is the best time to make that change.