Maternity Scheme
Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Pooling Scheme
What do you know about The ConnectEd Partnership Maternity Paternity & Adoption Leave Pooling Scheme 2022 – 2024/2025 (3 year or 2-year membership at fixed rates)?
Maternity absence risk and associated Maternity cover can often be one of the biggest absence costs and it is important to understand the impact it could have on your budget; you can protect your school by joining the ConnectEd Partnership Maternity Paternity & Adoption Leave Pooling Scheme (Members only). There are currently 1472.74 Teachers and 1503.27 support staff covered by the scheme.
In general, a Pooling Scheme is an ongoing risk protection scheme to establish a particular type of common investment fund whose main characteristic is to reduce the overall cost, and, in this respect, it enables schools to work together to minimise the potential cost implications of teaching and support staff. Basically, the scheme provides an alternative and potentially cheaper method for insuring matters such as maternity, paternity and adoption leave.
The scheme 2022 – 2023 is in its seventh year of operation. The contract period is a minimum of 2 financial years at fixed rates. We expect schools to understand that in joining the scheme they are sharing the risk with other member schools so for example schools that overspend are being supported by funds provided by schools that have not overspent their premium paid.
This scheme is an in-house, self-funded, not for profit scheme, using a pooling arrangement which provides schools with full salary costs incurred when contracted staff members are absent, (As detailed in the Scheme Arrangements – Terms and Conditions). Any member school can join the scheme and basically you are sharing the risk with other Connected Partnership member schools.
The scheme covers all FTE contracted teachers (including headteachers) and non-teaching staff employed by the school except for Lunchtime Supervisory Assistants (As per terms and conditions).
Between 1991 and 2019 there has been a clear trend of mothers having children later in life in the United Kingdom, with the average age of mothers increasing from 27.7 in 1991 to 30.7 by 2019 which is a record high. A teacher on the top of the main scale (M6) salary is currently £36,961 per annum (pay award pending) and costs a school approximately £12,500 and rising, plus the costs for a replacement member of staff. We are also including in the costs the Employers National Insurance on costs contributions increase from April 2022 in the scheme.
ConnectEd Partnership will monitor and review the increase in costs on the scheme during 2022-23 financial year. From 2023, this will appear on payslips as the Health and Social Care Levy element. This average cost can be higher if the member of staff is in receipt of additional allowances.
This is a pooled scheme with claims paid from the premiums collected. It is therefore necessary to ensure funds are paid into the scheme promptly so that reimbursements are not delayed. We have been able to year on year reduce the proportionate contribution to the overspend and in 2019-2020 the scheme was not overspent therefore schools that overspent their premium paid had nothing to pay back. There are 85 member schools in the scheme in 2021-2022 and the number of schools has been maintained and grown since the scheme was introduced.
If you are considering joining a different scheme – be aware of commercial insurance provider companies who may only pay a contribution towards the Occupational Maternity, Adoption and Paternity Pay costs incurred when staff members are absent, whereas the ConnectEd Partnership scheme pays full costs. Also, it is important you know the history of any partial contribution to an overspend.
We set the premiums based on claims history to keep any potential partial contribution to an overspend to a minimum. An increase in the numbers of schools in the scheme means a higher fund value which in turn lowers the risk of any potential overspend by the scheme.
So as you can see there will always be winners and losers, year on year, and some schools may be contributing more than they claim whilst others claim more than their premium.
To view our full terms and conditions, please click here
If you require any further information or have any queries, please contact:
Helen Perkins (working days are Monday, Tuesday & Friday) helen.perkins@connectedpartnership.com
Direct T: 01902 290154