Leaving Teaching Career & Pay Hub
Compare private-sector employment packages, check Burgundy Book resignation dates, calculate your effective hourly pay and supply day rate, and model the real take-home impact of dropping a TLR or stepping down from leadership.
Private Sector Package Comparison
Illustrative Private-Sector Package Match
£54,800
Illustrative salary on this employer-cost basis+£7,861
Compared with teaching salary +22.6%How this comparison works
This is an illustrative employer-package comparison. It compares your teaching salary plus the current 28.68% TPS employer funding rate with a private salary plus the employer pension contribution you select. TPS is a defined-benefit CARE scheme, so the 28.68% contribution is not a personal pension pot and this result is not a valuation of your individual TPS benefits.
Why Headline Salary Alone Can Be Misleading
Comparing salary alone ignores pensions. In the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS), the employer currently contributes 28.68% of pensionable pay towards funding the scheme. TPS is a defined-benefit scheme, so this employer contribution is not paid into a personal pot and should not be treated as the cash value of your individual pension rights.
- • Gross Pay: £46,939
- • Employer TPS Funding (28.68%): +£13,462/yr
- • CARE Pension Earned This Year: £823.49/yr of annual pension accrued before future revaluation
- Illustrative Employer Cost: ~£60,401
- • Gross Pay: £46,939
- • Standard Employer DC Match (5%): +£2,347/yr
- • Investment Outcome: Depends on contributions, charges and investment performance
- Illustrative Employer Cost: ~£49,286
Burgundy Book Resignation Deadlines
Standard Burgundy Book Deadlines
- Must Hand Notice in by: 31 May 2027
- Official Contract End Date: 31 August 2027
- Salary Paid Until: Normally paid to 31 August where that is your contractual end date
Understanding Your Notice Rights
Where your contractual employment continues to 31 August, salary normally continues through July and August. Check your contract and any agreed early-release arrangement before relying on this.
If you agree an earlier contractual end date, for example the final teaching day in July, salary may stop from that agreed date. Do not assume summer salary continues after your employment has ended.
Teachers on standard Burgundy Book terms normally use termly notice dates rather than a simple four-week notice period. Academies, independent schools and individual contracts can differ, so check your own terms before resigning.
True Hourly Wage Calculator
Effective Hourly Rate Comparison
£23.14 / hr
(Based on 39.5 working weeks)£27.82 / hr
(Based on 46.5 working weeks)This compares your current salary across the working patterns shown. Longer term-time hours can significantly reduce your effective hourly rate, even before comparing different salaries, pensions or benefits.
The 39.5-Week Time Compression Comparison
Teachers often get told: "You get 13 weeks of holiday!" However, the working hours are compressed into fewer weeks:
| Career Path | Working Weeks | Average Weekly Hours | Total Annual Hours | Effective Hourly Rate (£47k) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teacher (M6) | 39.5 | 53 hrs | 2,093 hrs | £22.42 / hr |
| Standard 37.5h Role | 46.5 (28 days holiday) | 37.5 hrs | 1,743 hrs | £26.96 / hr |
Supply Teaching Day Rate Matcher
Days Required Per Week
3.8 Days / week
Estimated across 39 working weeks, allowing for umbrella employer NI, apprenticeship levy, the weekly umbrella margin, PAYE, employee NI and your selected student-loan plan.
Supply Teaching: Gross Day Rate vs Actual Take-Home
Where an agency quotes an umbrella assignment rate, employment costs are deducted before arriving at your taxable gross pay. These can include:
Step Down from Leadership / Drop TLR Calculator
Compare your exact take-home pay before and after stepping down.Net Take-Home Comparison
-£13,165
Paper headline cut-£538
Actual drop in monthly pay packetThe Tax & Deduction Reality
A gross salary reduction does not translate pound-for-pound into lower take-home pay. In this illustration, 51% of the gross difference would otherwise have gone to Income Tax, employee NI, TPS contributions and any selected student-loan repayment. Based on an illustrative 300 additional leadership hours a year, the net value of the extra pay is £17.90 per extra hour.
Why Stepping Down Costs Far Less Than You Think
Ready to explore roles beyond the classroom?
See benchmark salaries, transferable skills mappings, and live job searches for ex-teachers transitioning into Instructional Design, Corporate L&D, EdTech Customer Success, and the Civil Service.
About These Transition Estimates
These tools provide illustrative career-planning comparisons using 2026–27 tax, National Insurance, Teachers' Pension Scheme and student-loan assumptions where relevant. The private-sector package tool is an employer-cost comparison, not a valuation of individual TPS benefits.
- Notice dates reflect standard Burgundy Book terms commonly used in maintained schools; academy, independent-school and individual contracts can differ.
- Income Tax examples use England, Wales and Northern Ireland 2026–27 rates; Scottish Income Tax differs.
- NI, TPS contribution bands and student-loan thresholds use published 2026–27 rates.
- These figures are estimates for career planning and do not constitute formal financial advice.
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