How are local pay rates (e.g. council agreements) handled?

The rate card supports several layers — central rate, council agreement and school supplement. The highest matching layer applies. All rates are versioned, so historical shifts use the rate that was active then.

What happens if we exceed the budget by 30%?

The banner turns red, the head gets a notification, and the budget report includes an automatic statement for the local authority. The forecast module suggests budget reopening or intervention.

Can a teacher see their own cover pay here?

Yes — under 'My pay' the teacher sees their own accepted shifts, rates and expected payment. Other teachers' figures aren't visible.

Cover finance

Cover finance rates, costs and trends

Live overview of cover spend per week, class and subject team. Live rate cards, automated payroll and early warning when the budget is tight. Herrmann & Rockoff (2012) show that both over- and under-spending on cover harms attainment — visible finance lets you hit the balance.

Contact

Spend per week

See spend per week, month and quarter — compared with budget.

Live rate card

Cover rates per role and qualification update centrally — applied to the next shift instantly.

Budget alert

When 80%/100% of budget is spent, the head is notified — no spreadsheet hunting.

Trend graph

Spot patterns — is it always Monday mornings? A particular class? A particular subject?

Payroll integration

Accepted shifts flow straight into payroll — no manual entry.

Per subject team

Each department sees its own spend — better self-awareness around absence.

By absence reason

Get the by_absence breakdown — separate cover from long-term sickness vs. CPD days.

Quarterly forecast

Seasonal forecast shows likely spend for the rest of the year — supports budget revision.

In the classroom

Head before budget

Forecast of yearly cover spend based on seasonal data — better decisions.

Cover coordinator

Sees which rates apply without looking them up — sets it right from the start.

Local authority

Compare cover spend across schools — find best practices.

For school leadership and for the local authority

For school leadership

The budget banner runs at the top of the timetable designer, so you see the consequence while making the decision — not a month too late. The by_absence breakdown separates sickness costs from CPD and parental-leave costs, so reporting to the local authority and governors is crystal clear.

Banner in the designer — decision + cost together
by_absence breakdown separates causes
Quarterly forecast supports budget revision

For the local authority

The local authority gets comparable KPIs across schools. Which schools have high or low cover spend per teacher FTE? Where is spend rising? Which schools need support to grow their cover pool?

Per-FTE comparison — not just absolute numbers
Trends show where problems are growing
Export to the authority's BI as standard CSV

Works with

Substitute marketplace Staff absence Payroll

Research base

The cover finance module draws on international and Danish research on the impact of teacher absence on both pupil outcomes and school budgets.

Herrmann, M. A. & Rockoff, J. E. (2012). Worker absence and productivity: Evidence from teaching. Journal of Labor Economics, 30(4), 749–782 source
Miller, R. T., Murnane, R. J. & Willett, J. B. (2008). Do teacher absences impact student achievement? Longitudinal evidence from one urban school district. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 30(2), 181–200 source
Podolsky, A., Kini, T., Bishop, J. & Darling-Hammond, L. (2016). Solving the teacher shortage: How to attract and retain excellent educators. Learning Policy Institute source
Danmarks Evalueringsinstitut (EVA) (2018). Vikardækning i folkeskolen — omfang, kvalitet og konsekvenser. EVA source
KL & Lærernes Centralorganisation (2020). Arbejdstidsaftale 2020 (A20) for undervisningsområdet. KL & LC source
OECD (2020). TALIS 2018 Results (Volume II): Teachers and School Leaders as Valued Professionals. OECD Publishing source

Frequently asked questions

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