Teaching assistants and term-time staff: contract and holiday-pay checklist

Term-time employment is not simply a full-time contract with school holidays removed. The contract must explain when work is performed, whether inset or training days are included, how annual salary is calculated and spread, and how statutory holiday entitlement and pay are handled. Clear wording reduces payroll disputes and helps staff understand their monthly pay.

Define the working pattern precisely

State whether the role is term-time only, part-year or year-round, the normal days and hours, and the number of weeks or days the employee is required to work. Identify inset days, training, preparation, meetings, trips, parents' evenings or holiday-period duties. Avoid “as required” wording that conceals predictable unpaid work.

Clarify the employer, school or trust, start date, continuity date, workplace, role, line manager, pay, probation, sickness, notice and pension information. If the role is fixed term because of funding or pupil support, identify the genuine end point and manage renewal or expiry properly.

Term-time staff can be employees or workers and retain statutory rights. Being paid across twelve equal monthly instalments does not turn school closure periods into working time or automatically show when holiday is taken.

Explain annualised salary

Show the full-time equivalent rate where relevant and the calculation that produces actual annual pay. Distinguish working weeks, paid holiday and any other paid weeks. State that annual salary is normally paid in equal monthly instalments and explain what happens when employment begins or ends part-way through the year.

Do not hide the method solely in an inaccessible payroll spreadsheet. Give employees a comprehensible calculation or policy, record any local-government or collective terms and provide advance notice of legitimate changes. Check that deductions following overpayment or early departure have a lawful basis and a transparent calculation.

Additional hours should be authorised and recorded. State whether they are paid, taken as time off or already included within a defined allowance. The school should not rely on goodwill for recurring classroom preparation, training or meetings outside contracted hours.

Calculate holiday under the correct rules

Most workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid holiday. Current rules distinguish regular-hours workers from irregular-hours and part-year workers, and the calculation depends on the contract and leave year. A person who works only part of the year is not automatically an irregular-hours worker, and a teaching assistant's precise contractual pattern matters.

Government guidance says holiday pay for irregular-hours and part-year workers uses average pay from the previous 52 paid weeks, looking back up to 104 weeks where necessary. Rolled-up holiday pay is permitted for qualifying irregular-hours and part-year workers for relevant leave years, subject to the statutory method and itemised payment. It is not a general option for regular-hours staff.

Normal remuneration can include regular overtime and other specified payments. Check which elements belong in statutory holiday pay rather than assuming basic salary is always sufficient. From 6 April 2026, detailed annual-leave and holiday-pay records must be kept for at least six years, according to current government guidance.

Schools should identify when holiday is deemed or required to be taken and communicate this lawfully. Do not double count holiday by including it in annualised pay while treating the same closure periods inconsistently.

Manage sickness, family leave and leavers

Explain reporting, certification and occupational sick-pay terms. Part-year patterns can make calculations difficult when sickness, family leave, unpaid leave or a mid-year pay change occurs. Use the governing statutory, contractual and collective rules rather than an informal daily-rate shortcut.

For starters and leavers, calculate accrued entitlement and pay consistently. Check whether monthly salary paid to date is ahead of or behind the annualised amount earned, then apply only authorised deductions or payments. Give the employee a written breakdown and correct payroll records promptly.

Review the pattern annually

Compare the next academic calendar with the contract before timetables are finalised. Count required days, inset days and any additional duties. Verify salary scales, hours, holiday treatment and equal-pay implications. Consult on contractual changes rather than silently altering the calculation.

Employer checklist

• State working weeks, days, hours and all required additional duties.
• Show the annualised-salary calculation and monthly payment method.
• Identify the employee's hours status and holiday-calculation rules.
• Record overtime, training and extra days accurately.
• Keep leave and holiday-pay evidence for the required retention period.
• Explain starters, leavers, sickness and family-leave calculations.
• Check collective agreements and jurisdiction-specific school terms.
• Review the calendar and contract every academic year.

Read our permanent, fixed-term and zero-hours comparison and holiday entitlement and holiday-pay guide for related principles. You can then build an education employment contract and tailor the working pattern carefully.

This guide provides general information, not legal or payroll advice. Schools and trusts should check current statutory guidance, collective terms and their own legal advice before changing established pay arrangements.