Short answer
Why the hourly view matters
Most trusts follow the national pay scale and its protections, so for most teachers the question never arises. But some set their own terms, and a headline uplift of a few percent can come with longer contracted days. Our trust pay profiles record, for each trust we could verify, whether it follows the national scale, what extra it pays, and what we found about hours.
How to read the result
The break-even figure is simple arithmetic: a salary uplift of a given percentage is cancelled out when contracted hours rise by the same percentage. If your offered hours are above that figure, the offer pays less per contracted hour than the national scale. It says nothing about the hours you will actually work, which is usually higher under either contract.
Defaults are an example, not a trust
What to check on a contract
- Contracted hours or start and finish times, and how many days a year they apply.
- Whether the 1,265-hour directed time limit applies, or the trust sets its own terms.
- Pension, holidays and sick pay — they change the real value of the package.
- Whether the uplift applies to every pay point, not just the main range.
Frequently asked questions
Why compare pay per hour instead of salary? +
Because the national scale comes with a legal cap on directed time, 1,265 hours a year in maintained schools, and an employer outside that framework can ask for more hours at a higher salary. If the salary rises by less than the hours do, the pay per contracted hour falls even though the salary looks bigger.
Does every academy trust set its own hours? +
Academies and free schools are not bound by the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document, so each trust can set its own pay and conditions, though most mirror the national terms. Check the contract itself: our trust profiles say what we could verify about each one, and where we could not.
What figure should I enter for contracted hours? +
The annual hours the contract requires you to be available for, which is often stated as a daily start and finish time multiplied by working days. If the contract does not say, ask in writing. This is contracted time, not the time you will actually spend marking and planning, which is usually more under either deal.
Is a lower hourly rate always worse? +
Not necessarily. Other parts of the package matter: pension, holidays, workload culture, progression and support. This tool isolates one number so you can see it clearly; it does not tell you whether a job is right for you.
Where does the 1,265 figure come from? +
It is the annual limit on directed time in the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document, which applies in maintained schools in England. Directed time is the time a teacher can be required to be available, not all of the hours a teacher works.