Filling gaps in class schedules has a price: costs for hiring external teachers are rising considerably

How often do schools use external and therefore more expensive staff?

In 2022, according to the Court of Audit, secondary schools spent a total of 370 million euros on outside teachers. That amount represents 4.4 percent of the total personnel costs in education. In 2013, schools spent only 2.2 percent of personnel costs on external staff.

For schools, this shift is not a matter of wanting, but of having to. If a teacher suddenly becomes ill or resigns, there is often no other option due to the teacher shortage than to call on a secondment agency. The support that schools received during the corona crisis to eliminate learning gaps was also often spent on commercial parties due to its temporary nature.

Teachers who find work through a secondment agency do not earn much more than their employed colleagues. They officially fall under the collective labor agreements for temporary workers. Legally, they are entitled to compensation that is comparable to their colleagues.

Why do externally hired teachers cost schools more?

If schools fill a gap in the schedule by hiring an external teacher, it costs considerably more money, the Court of Audit calculated. In addition to the teacher salary, secondment agencies charge a fee for their services. The school must also pay 21 percent VAT on the hourly wage. Unlike commercial companies, schools cannot offset this VAT against their income.

A calculation example from the Court of Audit shows that the costs for schools can rise considerably. At the top of the most common salary scale (LB), an employed teacher costs a school approximately 58 euros per hour. Hiring a teacher with the same salary through an external company costs the school almost double: 113 euros per hour.

The secondment agencies do not pocket all of that difference. Because employees of these agencies run a higher risk of disability or unemployment, the agencies pay more employer social security contributions than schools. The agencies include these extra costs in their prices. The agencies also reserve money to pay their teachers during school holidays.

Teachers who advertise themselves as self-employed cost schools less extra money. Self-employed entrepreneurs in education are exempt from the mandatory payment of VAT. If self-employed people and schools find each other through an agency, this may incur additional costs.

Self-employed people are also making their mark in schools. Why?

“Teachers who start their own business want autonomy,” says Jan-Willem Duim, founder of Flexonderwijs, a platform that links independent teachers to schools. ‘They do not want to simply implement policy as employed teachers, but they want to be able to decide for themselves whether an assignment suits them.’

Duim also sees that workers – and therefore also teachers – are increasingly willing to give up security in exchange for freedom and flexibility. This is also reflected in healthcare, for example: the number of self-employed people is increasing rapidly in that sector, because self-employed people have more control over their own schedule and can decide for themselves how much they want to work.

What can schools do to keep costs for external teachers under control?

Although ‘sometimes there is no other choice’, Jeroen Goes, school administrator in De Bilt, tries to avoid secondment agencies as much as possible. Goes prefers to work with self-employed people who do not charge VAT or extra costs. ‘And then you are not tied to the small print of a contract, where, for example, you are obliged to hire a teacher for at least a year, whether you like the collaboration or not.’

Because self-employed people sometimes cost considerably more than their employed colleagues, primary schools in Amsterdam have made price agreements. Self-employed teachers receive a maximum of 68 euros or 84 euros per hour, depending on the scale in which they fall, it was reported. Het Parool Tuesday. Last year, various school boards also stated that they wanted to stop hiring external staff.

A ceiling on rates for external workers is not all positive: some self-employed people used the maximum rate as the minimum rate. “A young woman recently asked for 85 euros per hour,” a school administrator told the Amsterdam newspaper. “She was just starting out, hadn’t even made her mark yet.”

What are the consequences for students?

That depends on how you look at it. Students benefit from continuity: having a different teacher in the classroom is anything but desirable. Sometimes a substitute teacher is in front of the class who is not qualified, but can keep the students busy for a day. However, hiring a seconded teacher in a hurry is still better than sending a class home.

How do we get more teachers back into the classroom, so that such substitute tricks are no longer necessary? Improve the image of education, says school administrator Goes. ‘Exude a little more optimism, also from the ministry. The salaries are good, as are the employment conditions. Teaching is a wonderful profession.’