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Your monthly allowance will be £879 per month for a 12 hour-week, except in the following areas: -
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Inner London £1,105 |
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Outer London £1,044 |
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Fringe (outskirts of London) £936 |
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Scotland £879 |
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Northern Ireland £879 |
If you are asked to do more than 12 hours per week, you should be paid for the extra hours at the hourly rate.
You will usually receive your allowance directly into your UK bank account at the end of every month. You will also get a ‘pay slip’ which confirms the allowance you receive and the amount of tax you pay. Keep these payslips and take them back home in case you need to prove you worked in the UK for a year in the future.
You will need to open a bank account so that you can receive your allowance. It is not always easy for non-UK nationals working here temporarily to open a bank account because of recent problems with fraud. Make sure you take your passport or identity card and a letter from your school on school headed paper addressed to the bank (not 'To whom it may concern') with the following: -
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your address in your home country |
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your UK address |
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the contact name and telephone number of your mentor teacher |
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your conditions of employment. |
The following documents may also be useful: -
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a letter of introduction from your bank at home (in English if possible) |
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a letter addressed to you with your address printed at the top (ideally your UK address, otherwise your address in your home country) |
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your Statement of Employment from your school (contract) |
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your certificate of registration from the British Council (we usually send this in early to mid October). |
It might be easier to open a bank account if your teacher is with you.
Different banks and different branch offices of banks have different criteria for opening an account. You may have to try a few banks in your area before you are successful.
About £45 – a bit more in the London area and in Scotland – will be deducted from your monthly allowance. Every employee in the UK has to pay National Insurance (NI) and this applies to you too, even if you have insurance from your home country. It will entitle you to receive health care in the UK (see our section on Health Care). If you have any problems relating to NI payments, you should speak to your school bursar in the first instance.
All assistants have the right to a National Insurance number to enable the contributions paid to be registered in the system, and you need to apply for it as soon as possible on starting your job. The school or Local Authority should contact the NI Fast Path team on 0845 641 5047/8/9 on your behalf. Postal applications for NI numbers will then be sent to the school or Local Authority as appropriate, with guidance on completing the form. When you have completed the form, make a photocopy of it and return it to the address given, together with a photocopy of your passport or identity card and (for non-EU nationals) visa. You will then be allocated an NI number within 3-4 weeks.
If you already have an NI number because you have worked in the UK in the past, you can use it again as it is valid for life.
You cannot claim back NI contributions when you leave the UK but, if you are from the EU, you can sometimes have these contributions credited to your own country’s system on your return. You should download the form Ca3916 from the HMRC or contact the HMRC Centre for Non-Residents on 0845 915 4811 or from abroad +44 (0)191 203 7010. If you are an assistant from outside the EU you should check with your home authorities on whether NI contributions can be transferred or not.
Some assistants have to pay income tax and some do not. Find out what your income tax situation is likely to be in our Guide to Understanding UK Income Tax. This guide is also available in French, German and Spanish.
All assistants need to complete the tax form P46 soon after their arrival, and send it to their employer’s tax office (school’s or Local Authority’s as appropriate). Assistants from Austria, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Pakistan and Spain benefit from a Double Taxation Agreement (with a Teaching Article) between their country and the UK. Assistants from (only) these countries must attach a covering letter and a printout of the relevant Teaching Article to the tax form they complete. A hyperlink to the Teaching Article can be found at the bottom of the covering letter.
Assistants should keep a photocopy of all the papers they send to the tax office in case of a future query regarding a possible tax refund.
Council tax is a property tax based on the value of a property (house or flat) and the number of adults living there. There are two parts:
Personal component
You are exempt from (do not have to pay) the personal component of Council Tax as you are considered to be a student for Council Tax purposes. If your school has returned form ADF4 (the confirmation of appointment form), we will send you a Certificate of Registration, which you should take or send to your local Council Tax office.
Property component
You will have to pay this part of the Council Tax if you live with employed people who pay Council Tax themselves. If you live alone, with students or with other assistants, you should not have to pay.
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