How to Manage Timesheets as a Supply Teacher
A timesheet is used to collect and track working data of employees to calculate wages, but this can be a confusing subject to master. To learn how to manage timesheets as a supply teacher, what you need to know before you get started, and how we can help you here at First Class Supply, just keep reading—we’re going to go through everything you need to know.
Why Do Accurate Timesheets Matter for Supply Teachers?
Having an accurate timesheet is crucial as they ensure that you receive the proper payment for all the work that you do. This is especially important when you are a supply teacher because of daily or hourly pay, and inaccurate timesheets can result in reduced pay, inaccurate pay, and delays in pay—none of which you want to have to deal with.
Knowing how to manage timesheets as a supply teacher is important for many reasons, even beyond pay. When there are issues with your timesheet, you may find yourself in trouble with the school, agency, or government, but you can also damage the relationship you have with schools and agencies. This can lead to decreased work or losing work completely, and restoring trust can be incredibly difficult, even if the mistake was a one-off.
How Does the Timesheet Process Work at First Class Supply?
Here at First Class Supply, we typically have one timesheet per person per school week, unless that person has two different roles at a given school (e.g. they do teaching and teaching assistant work). There will also be a separate timesheet in the case of one of our supply teachers taking on additional hours to do something like a parent’s evening to track the extra hours of work.
We ask that all timesheets are sent online at the end of every week. This ensures that schools have the opportunity to check and approve them as soon as possible, and any questions or queries can be sorted out quickly, so that everything is ready to go when it is time to do the monthly payroll.
To make the timesheets as easy as possible, we have a full 24/25 payroll schedule that teachers can refer back to in order to track what needs to be done, and when they will get paid.
Step-by-Step: How Do You Fill in Your Timesheet Correctly?
Supply teachers need to manage their timesheets accurately by keeping track of the days and hours they work and ensuring that they have all necessary evidence to back up their numbers. Some companies may have online portals where you can fill everything out, whereas others will require you to create your own timesheet on something like Google Sheets or Excel, and send in.
Be sure to find out what is expected of you, and what is preferred when you start working. Any agency should be happy to help you figure out how to manage timesheets as a supply teacher.
For most timesheets, you will need to include:
- Include your Payroll Number
- Include your full name
- Include your address
- Include the name of the school you have been working at
- Note the teacher you are covering for
- Note the reason for covering said teacher
- Record the number of hours or days you have worked using the details provided on our payroll schedule
- Send your timesheet to us electronically, and we can assist you where needed
When and Where Do You Submit Your Timesheet?
At First Class Supply, we ask that you submit your timesheets online every Friday of every week to ensure that everything keeps running smoothly. If a timesheet is submitted late, then the payment will be processed for the next pay date, as shown on our payroll schedule.
Please remember that companies and agencies will have different requirements for when you need to submit your timesheets. It is always recommended that you ask them about this beforehand to ensure that there are no late submissions, which could put you behind on payment.
How Do You Get Paid as a Supply Teacher?
We can’t speak for everyone, but at First Class Supply, we pay everyone PAYE and do not use any umbrella companies to keep things easy. Everything is done in-house, which also allows us to answer your queries and offer advice and support if you run into any issues.
Support staff and teaching assistants get paid hourly (to the nearest quarter of an hour) due to their shifts varying in length more, while teachers are typically laid daily (half day for a morning or afternoon) as their shifts are longer. Any hours or days that people work up to the last Friday of the month is paid on the 15th of the following month.
What Are Some Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them?
When learning how to manage timesheets as a supply teacher, you will quickly notice how easy it is to make a mistake, and this is why we will always encourage supply teachers and anyone else who needs to use timesheets to digitise and automate them.
Most mistakes that you can make will no longer be an issue if you digitise it and don’t have to worry about calculations yourself. However, it’s also key for you to remember to keep a note of time/days worked that you can refer back to throughout your time of working at a school.
Remove Human Error—Digitisation and Automation Are Your Friends
It’s important to remember that humans are prone to human error. To get around this problem, and also save you time and trouble, you can digitise and automate your timesheets by using digital timesheets from the get-go. These will be able to handle billing calculations for you, and you can set them up to account for different rates at different places.
At First Class Supply, we work with online timesheets to help avoid these kinds of problems, and we are more than happy to help you with any problems or queries that you might have.
Tips for Staying Organised Across Multiple Schools
Whether for day-to-day work or timesheet-related, staying organised when you work at different schools can be incredibly difficult. However, as long as you make an effort to separate the schools, keep physical and electronic timetables, and keep things separated from one another, you should be able to organise things fairly easily—but getting into this habit may be difficult.
Keep a Physical and Electronic Timetable
By keeping a physical and electronic timetable or calendar, you will always be able to see where you need to work and when, allowing you to more easily take notes and accurately record everything that you need to.
Keep Separate Folders and Files for Different Schools
Different schools might have different agreed pay rates and other key information that you need to keep track of. However, be careful not to have any sensitive information or any kind of information that you are not meant to have as a supply teacher, as this will get you in trouble very quickly.
Who to Contact for Timesheet or Payroll Help
Learning how to manage timesheets as a supply teacher can be daunting, and it can take some time to get used to it if you are not. However, you are not alone, and we are more than happy to help if you have an issue.
Have a question about your timesheets? Get in touch with the friendly team at First Class Supply—we’re here to help every step of the way.
For more information, why not check out our community support, testimonials and meet the team? We also have information for schools and teachers, and like to keep you up-to-date on news.
Contact us today
Looking for a new job?
