Maternity leave presents real operational and financial challenges for schools, academies and colleges. Suddenly a key team member isn’t there and there’s no way to know if they’re coming back, which makes it particularly hard to plan and budget for.

Historically schools would need to purchase a staff absence insurance policy to cover maternity absences. Whilst this would provide the school with the peace of mind that they can recoup the costs of paying for a replacement teacher or engaging supply cover, they would often be left paying for an insurance policy which they neither want or need.

That’s why at Harrington Bates, we now allow schools to purchase maternity cover as a standalone product. The cover works in exactly the same way as traditional maternity cover, but you do not need a staff absence insurance policy in place to purchase it.

One of the most common questions we’re asked by schools is what lump sum benefit they need to select to cover the cost of maternity absences. To assist with this, we have developed a Maternity Deficit Calculator. This simple tool helps provide an indication of the shortfall that a school may experience when a member of staff takes maternity leave.

All you need to do is click on the download button, enter the member of staff’s annual salary and your total deficit will be automatically calculated. This will provide an indication of the amount of lump sum benefit your school will require.

Please note: The deficit calculator is based upon the “2010 burgundy book” and government standard SMP figures, however we cannot predict individual school circumstances therefore it remains the school’s responsibility to ensure the cover amount selected is sufficient.