Coronavirus: Exam markers will receive no compensation

Every year the CCEA employs about 2,100 examiners and visiting examiners

About 6,700 exam markers, moderators and invigilators will not receive any compensation for losing pay due to the cancellation of summer exams.

The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) told the staff of the decision on Tuesday.

CCEA said the Department of Education had not approved a proposal for "a compensation payment in lieu of lost income for summer 2020".

It also said that it was its intention to hold exams again in 2021.

However, it said that could change depending on the wider public health situation.

Every year CCEA employs about 2,100 examiners and visiting examiners to set exam papers, 1,300 invigilators for exams, 3,000 markers and 250 moderators.

They are given contracts for the work but are technically self-employed.

The vast majority are current or retired teachers, and some had already agreed dates to invigilate or oversee exams before the 2020 exams were cancelled in mid-March.

BBC News NI understands that it normally costs the CCEA more than £5m a year to pay the temporary staff for the exams series.

As substitute teachers received some pay for work they missed out on due to the closure of schools, there was hope that some payment could be made to exam staff.

But CCEA has now confirmed that will not be the case.

The CCEA said it was its intention to hold exams again in 2021, but that could change depending on the wider public health situation

In an email to affected staff, CCEA said that it had tried to help those who had lost income as a result of exams being cancelled.

"CCEA has had long and detailed discussions with the department on this issue and has submitted proposals for a compensation payment in lieu of lost income for summer 2020," it said.

"However, the department has advised that, despite a thorough examination of the options, it has not been possible to reconcile the approval of these payments with managing public money considerations and the associated legal advice received."

'High esteem'

CCEA said that as a result, payment could only be made to examiners who had been involved in setting exam papers but no other staff.

"The position in relation to payment is no reflection of the high esteem in which you and fellow contractors are held and is unfortunately outside of CCEA's control," it said.

"I hope that the situation this summer will not deter you from continuing to work with us in the future.

"The services of our examiners are implicit to the examinations system and it would not be possible to deliver an exam series without examiners like you."

CCEA also said Education Minister Peter Weir wanted exams to take place again in 2021, but that could change.

"We are working hard to understand what exams will look like in 2020/21 and are consulting with the department on the way forward," it said.

"We are also developing a plan for contingency should the situation change because of increased spread of Covid-19 infections.

"We will communicate the outcome as soon as a decision is made, and contracts will be available as soon as practical thereafter."

CCEA is planning to reduce what is taught and the number of exams in 28 GCSE subjects in the 2020/21 year.

However, a final version of the plans has not yet been published.