A chunky government bonus scheme appears to have kept early career teachers in post but is fuelling resentment among experienced staff. The FE targeted retention incentive, launched in 2023 to tackle challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified teachers, pays thousands of new teachers up to £6,000 on top of their basic salary. In a survey of around 3,000 teachers who received the payment last year, one fifth (21 per cent) indicated they would not have stayed teaching in FE without the bonus. But an interim evaluation report, published yesterday, warned the bonuses were creating unintended tensions between staff after finding teachers with over 10 years of experience were earning less than their new colleagues once the bonus payment is factored in. HR leaders and senior staff told researchers the same bonus was making long-serving teachers feel overlooked and undervalued. Resentment among ineligible teachers Targeted retention incentive (TRI) payments range between £2,000 and £6,000 (after tax), which are eligible for teachers in FE with up to five years’ experience. To get the maximum bonus, eligible teachers would need to teach for at least 12 hours per week at a college where 50 per cent or more 16 to 19 year olds were disadvantaged. Bonus recipients said the payments had reduced stress by being able to cover unexpected costs or managing the cost of living. “The FE TRI gives you that little bit of tranquillity… to know that you have a little [financial] back-up there,” one teacher said. Teachers also reported that the payment helped to offset drawbacks of working in FE such as low pay and high workload. However, HR leaders and seniors reported concerns that non-eligible teachers consider themselves “less valued” than colleagues who joined recently. “You have staff that say, ‘Well, it’s not fair because I’m not a maths teacher or an engineering lecturer, but I’m equally committed, equally hard-working and passionate about what I do,” one FE staff member said. The report added it was “particularly pertinent” for long- serving FE teachers who felt their skills and experience were being overlooked. “This was perceived to be leading to resentment between colleagues which in turn was affecting working relationships,” the report said. Of the 87 surveyed HR staff that administered the bonus, a few reported cases where the salaries of FE teachers with 10 years’ experience were lower than early career teachers when the FE TRI was taken into account. The report warned it could lead to more experienced teachers to leave the profession. Recruitment fixes In the first year of the scheme, £34.1 million was handed out to nearly 6,000 teachers, targeting subject areas where there are “critical skills priorities”. More than a third of HR and senior leaders surveyed said they found it difficult or very difficult to retain teaching staff, while nearly three in five reported the same for recruitment. The issue is more acute in the subjects the TRI targets, such as building and construction and engineering. Nine in ten HR respondents said retention difficulties had increased workload for remaining staff, disrupted teaching and driven up the use of agency cover. The report concluded that it was too early to “definitively” determine the impact of the FE TRI on FE teacher retention and recruitment, but cited emerging evidence that progress towards these outcomes is being achieved. Cliff edge when payments stop Applications for round two of the TRI opened in March and closes next month. Respondents were “frustrated” about the timing of the application window as attrition is greater during the autumn term of the academic year so staff who could benefit from the bonus could leave before the application window opens. No funding beyond round two has been confirmed, causing fears of a cliff edge to payments. “If they stop rolling [the TRI] out, it will be like a sudden pay cut,” one teacher said. “It makes you look elsewhere, and it makes you less likely to keep pushing through the hard times and those pinch points.”