Updated - 15/02/2021

All school staff registered with People Group should have recieved an email from them in regards to the furlough scheme moving forward. Should you have any enquiries or questions please contact People Group directly.

Updated - 08/02/2021

We have made the decision not to run the furlough scheme for supply staff over February half term. At present, we are not yet clear if People Goup will be offering the facility or not. However, we feel we have been generous to support our staff during term time and they would not normally earn during holidays.

Over half term we will hopefully have more info re schools reopening and can issue a further statement on our furlough plans and eligibility moving forward.

Updated - 01/02/2021

We have reviewed the supply teacher furlough scheme this morning and will be continuing to run this until Friday 12^th February in the first instance. The criteria for the scheme remains the same as in January. Once we have more information regarding the re-opening of schools we will then advise you on the future of the scheme and any surrounding criteria.

13/01/2021

We hope that you are staying safe during these continuingly challenging times. We thank you for your patience over these last weeks’ whilst we try to provide clarity on the financial situation for our staff.

Up to this point, we have been liaising with People PAYE daily and they announced yesterday they will not be utilising the government Furlough scheme - a position we fully understand after their amazing support throughout 2020. We wanted to update you on what this means for you. 

The current Furlough scheme differs to that from the original lockdown, in that the government will not cover the employment costs of contractors. This cost must now be covered by the employer to be able to place staff on Furlough.

We understand that the financial stresses of this ever-changing situation are tough for everyone affected and want to support as many of our staff as possible. We have been through a rigorous process of determining the financial implications of covering the employment costs of our workers ourselves. With schools being closed, this limits our income as a business, but we are committed to providing financial support for as many contractors as we possibly can.

We will furlough all staff who are eligible (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-could-be-covered-by-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme#check-if-youre-eligible) who were paid via People and worked since week 2030 (October half term). This will be reviewed week commencing 1^st February when we will decide who can continue to support. Staff paid by an alternative provider should contact them directly for more guidance.

If you are not eligible under the above criteria, please find below a useful link on other financial support available during this time;

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-what-to-do-if-youre-employed-and-cannot-work#regular-payments

Every person working with or for Smile Education is a part of our Smile family and we are always here to support you. All our internal staff are on flexi furlough so your personal consultant may be taking a little longer to get back to you, but we are still open and any one of our Smile team will offer you the same listening ear.

We also have our Facebook support group running, which was really positive to be a part of during the previous lockdown if you would like to join; head to Operation Smile.

Remember, we are all in the same storm, be not everybody is in the same boat. Always be kind.