I am a newly qualified teacher on regular supply work. I was told that even though I am a mature NQT, I would only be paid M1 in my first year. Not knowing any different, I accepted this. I now work in a different local education authority, where I was told that as a mature student with a few years of work in other sectors behind me, I should be on M3, or even M4. I am somewhat miffed as this did not happen with the first LEA. I spoke to my union which said that LEAs work differently and that there are no discretionary points now, and that LEAs can pay you what they like. What is the general rule on this?

As a general rule, teachers start at the bottom of the scale. However, there is the possibility of additional points for previous experience outside teaching. These are discretionary, and some schools and local authorities do not offer them as a routine part of any salary deal. Where teacher supply is rarely an issue, schools may be reluctant to pay more than the minimum. This is one effect of market forces.