In sickness and in health
Staff absences can prove costly unless the school is covered, writes Rob Thomas
A survey conducted by the Chartered Institute of Professional Development (CIPD) in 2008 found that teachers in the UK were absent from their jobs for an average of 7.8 days last year. Further insight into the CIPD figures reveals that the average cost of an absent teacher per year is £581. This puts staff absence as a priority within financial planning.
Staff absence doesn’t only present a financial conundrum. There are also a number of other factors that you need to address, including lost productivity, classroom continuity and – in some cases – planning for long-term absence.
How can I plan financially for staff absence?
The general assumption is that financial planning for sick leave is an art rather than a science. While there is undoubtedly some degree of chance over whether a member of staff will be ill or not, there are some early decisions that can be made that make the entire process much more scientific.
On a basic level, you will need to evaluate your current spend on supply arrangements. While your school may be fortunate and enjoy limited staff absence (and therefore lower incurred costs), it may find itself with a bill for supply cover that runs into thousands of pounds every year.
Some basic trend-spotting will help you to identify these costs. Research into the cost and frequency of supply cover at your school over the past three or four years is worth undertaking. It will not only provide you with an average yearly cost for staff absence, but will also help you to spot patterns or trends in staff absence. Of course, sick days are likely to soar during the winter months due to the number of colds and viruses around, but you may also notice an increase in cover at particularly stressful or busy periods of the year.
Once this basic analysis has been conducted, you will be better placed to consider the financial impact of providing cover for sickness across your school.
Should I consider staff absence insurance?
Balancing your operating budget can be challenging, even for the most experienced of bursars and headteachers, when you cannot know exactly how much of your resources supply teachers will use up each year.
Staff absence or supply insurance protects against daily staff absence and provides the school with the reassurance that short or long-term absence of staff is compensated, so that operating budgets can be maintained. Premia vary and are based on the number of staff you wish to cover and the circumstances against which you wish to be protected. But having conducted your own cost analysis into supply cover, you will be well placed to decide whether it is financially astute to take out insurance.
Rob Thomas is the marketing manager for the Columbus Insurance Group and can be contacted at Rob.Thomas@columbusinsurancegroup.com
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