The salary paid to the language assistant you are hosting depends on your institution's location within the UK and the number of hours the assistant works.
Modern Language Assistants work a minimum (standard) of 12 hours per week, for which assistants receive a gross monthly salary.
Any hours worked beyond the standard 12-hour period (up to 18 hours per week in total) are charged at a fixed hourly rate. Additional hours should be negotiated directly with your language assistant. You can also negotiate additional hours with your language assistant in exchange for benefits such as accommodation.
You cannot offer a language assistant a lower allowance in return for fewer hours.
Irish language assistants do not have to work the minimum of 12 hours a week. Please contact us with questions about our Irish language assistants programme.
2023-24 Updated Minimum Monthly Salary and Hourly Rate
The standard monthly salaries and additional hourly rates for Modern Language Assistants have remained the same since 2018-19. We recognise that the rising cost-of-living pressure has had a significant impact on Modern Language Assistants undertaking a placement in the UK for the 2022-23 academic year, with over one third of MLAs stating that their salary is insufficient to live on in a recent survey.
To ensure that the opportunity to be a Modern Language Assistant in the UK remains a sustainable option for students and young people overseas, we have increased our standard monthly salary and hourly rates for the 2023-24 academic year.
The recommended minimum monthly rate is based on the minimum monthly pay for unqualified teachers in England and Wales (as published by DfE). This is then reduced to 66.6% of this rate (X 0.66) to reflect their reduced hours.
We understand that the current circumstances are also challenging for host institutions, and thus, we have increased the MLA salaries based on the 2021-22 pay award for unqualified teachers. In line with this increase from the previous salary rates, we have also increased the standard fixed hourly rate for any hours worked beyond 12 hours per week by the same amount (10.8%).
The table below indicates the salary rates (gross monthly salary and fixed hourly rate) for hosting a Modern Language Assistant in the 2023-24 academic year. Please see the additional note at the bottom of this page for more information on the costs of hosting a Mandarin Chinese Language Assistant.
|
England (excluding London areas) Northern Ireland Scotland Wales |
Gross monthly salary - £1,013.05 for a standard 12 hours per week Standard fixed hourly rate - £15.26 for additional hours beyond the standard 12-hour period. |
|
Inner London |
Gross monthly salary - £1,270.45 for a standard 12 hours per week Standard fixed hourly rate - £19.21 for additional hours beyond the standard 12-hour period. |
|
Outer London |
Gross monthly salary - £1,200.76 for a standard 12 hours per week Standard fixed hourly rate - £18.15 for additional hours beyond the standard 12-hour period. |
|
London Fringe |
Gross monthly salary - £1,078.72 for a standard 12 hours per week Standard fixed hourly rate - £16.31 for additional hours beyond the standard 12-hour period. |
We have also provided a guide below for the total monthly cost of hosting a language assistant for more than 12 hours per week. This is calculated by using the following equation:
Gross monthly salary for 12 hours per week + (total number of additional hours per week * standard fixed hourly rate) * 4
| Monthly total | ||||
| Hours per week | England (excl London areas) Northern Ireland Scotland Wales |
London fringe | Outer London | Inner London |
| 12 | £1,013.05 | £1,078.72 | £1,200.76 | £1,270.45 |
| 13 | £1,074.08 | £1,143.96 | £1,273.36 | £1,347.30 |
| 14 | £1,135.11 | £1,209.20 | £1,345.95 | £1,424.15 |
| 15 | £1,196.14 | £1,274.44 | £1,418.55 | £1,501.00 |
| 16 | £1,257.16 | £1,339.68 | £1,491.14 | £1,577.85 |
| 17 | £1,318.19 | £1,404.92 | £1,563.74 | £1,654.70 |
| 18 | £1,379.22 | £1,470.15 | £1,636.34 | £1,731.56 |
Please note for host institutions hosting an MLA for more than 6 months, the host institution is also responsible for reimbursing the assistant the one-off cost of the Immigration Health Surcharge (£624).