There are two bonus programs for substitutes on the Senya platform! You can read about the Tier Bonus Program immediately below, or click here to skip down to the Urgency Bonus Program.
Tier Bonus Program
Get bonuses for working more jobs in a month!
Bonuses will vary based on the specific job assignments and the region where you are working. This allows us to adapt to different market conditions to ensure fair compensation while rewarding performance and commitment. As such, you will see varying available bonus amounts across jobs, but higher Tiered subs will earn a higher percentage of available bonus amounts.
Eligibility
- Complete all eligibility items in the Readiness Center.
- Maintain a minimum 4-star rating.
- Last-minute cancellations (canceling within 24 hours) pauses bonuses for 5 consecutive jobs. You may still accept jobs, but you will not receive tier bonuses while your eligibility is paused. To review more details, including exceptions, see Eligibility Details at the bottom of this page.
- The app automatically tracks your progress and applies bonuses, so you do not have to opt in to the bonus program. As long as you are eligible and meet the program criteria, you can earn bonuses!
Tier 1 — No Bonus
- Tier 1 subs earn the given job rate.
Tier 2 — 30% Bonus
Complete 5 jobs in a calendar month to be upgraded to a Tier 2 sub.
- 30% of the available bonus amount is automatically added for each job the rest of the month.
- Start the next month at Tier 2!
Tier 3 — 60% Bonus
Complete 10 jobs in a calendar month to be upgraded to a Tier 3 sub.
- 60% of the available bonus amount is automatically added for each job the rest of the month.
- Start the next month at Tier 3!
Tier 4 Super Sub — 100% Bonus
Complete 15 jobs in a calendar month to be upgraded to a Tier 4 sub.
- 100% of the available bonus amount is automatically added for each job the rest of the month.
- Start the next month at Tier 4!
Remember!
When you move up your Tier level, you also start the next month at that Tier! However, you need to continue working the set number of jobs each month to maintain or upgrade your tier from one month to the next. Think of it this way: The number of jobs you work each month determines the Tier bonus that you receive for the next month.
For example, if you work 15 jobs in September, you will be a Tier 4 substitute making 100% of the available bonus on every job for the rest of the month AND all of October. However, if you only work 7 jobs in October, then your Tier level will adjust down to Tier 2 at the start of November to match the number of jobs you worked in October.
Tier Bonus Program FAQs
Winter Break
The length of winter break significantly reduces the number of available school days for subs to work in the month of December.
For the month of December, the Tier level requirements are modified as follows:
- Achieve Tier 2 after 4 jobs
- Achieve Tier 3 after 7 jobs
- Achieve Tier 4 after 10 jobs
Fall and Spring Breaks
Based on years of data, the dates and lengths of fall and spring breaks vary greatly among schools. No modifications are made to the Tier level requirements for these breaks. You are encouraged to become familiar with the break schedule of schools in your area and adjust your job search habits accordingly, such as increasing the distance you are willing to work, being attentive to notifications, and scheduling sub jobs quickly before they are taken by others.
Summer Break
Your Tier level carries over the summer break and into the start of the next school year!
On the Senya platform, the months of June, July, and August are considered summer break months. Although some schools are still in session into June, and some schools return in July, the number of substitute jobs are generally much lower. For this reason, your Tier level carries over from the end of May.
- Whatever Tier level you achieve by the end of May, you will remain on that Tier through the months of June, July, August, and September.
- During September, the regular Tier requirements return, meaning that the number of days that you work in September will determine your Tier in October.
The table below shows an overview of Tier requirements for each month.
Rural and New Areas
Rural areas typically have fewer schools, and therefore, fewer substitute opportunities. There are also fewer schools that are partnered with Senya when we expand to a new city or state.
There are no current modifications to the Tier bonus system for these circumstances. Senya is dedicated to expanding bonus opportunities to all substitutes on the platform and will continue to explore ways to make our programs accessible.
Urgency Bonus Program
Get bonuses for working jobs that are posted the night before or the morning of the school’s needs.
Put plainly, all schools have emergency needs from time to time…staff call out with little notice, leaving schools in a tough position. There are also times when more staff are out than usual.
At Senya, we want to reward you for being the hero that steps in to fill these urgent needs!
Eligibility
- Complete all eligibility items in the Readiness Center.
- Maintain a minimum 4-star rating.
- Last-minute cancellations (canceling within 24 hours) pauses bonus eligibility for 5 consecutive jobs. You may still accept jobs the night before or the morning of, but you will not receive the urgency bonuses while your eligibility is paused. To review more details, including exceptions, see Eligibility Details at the bottom of this page.
Night Before - 30% Bonus
- 30% of the available bonus amount is automatically added to any job you accept for the next day that is posted or pending after 6:00 PM the night before.
Morning-of Early Acceptance - 70% Bonus
- 70% of the available bonus amount is automatically added to any job you accept for that morning (after 2 AM) and that you accept with an hour or more before the job start time.
This higher urgency bonus rewards subs who are up early and ready to work for the day; by being ready early, you can look for jobs that are pending or watch for jobs as they are posted and accept them early enough to get to the school on time for their need...and earn the maximum urgency bonus!
Morning-of Late Acceptance - 50% Bonus
- 50% of the available bonus amount is automatically added to any job you accept for that morning but with less than an hour before the job start time.*
In other words, if a job was posted earlier that morning but you didn't check until it was within 1 hour of its start time, you are less likely to arrive on time for the school. Get up early and accept jobs with plenty of time to earn the higher Early Acceptance bonus!
*Late Posts by Schools: When schools post jobs the morning-of with less than an hour before the start time, subs will receive up to 70% bonus since the extremely short notice was due to the school and not a substitute waiting until later to accept.
Which is better—the Tier bonus or the Urgency bonus?
The bonus programs are available simultaneously, and you will always get the higher bonus between the two, but each program is appealing for different reasons.
The Tier bonus program is a great fit for substitutes who can work more days in a month as well as subs who prefer to schedule jobs well in advance. There is a better guarantee of securing work compared to the risk of seeing what jobs might be available on short notice.
For substitutes who are only able to work a certain number of jobs each month, or who have more flexible schedules, the Urgency bonus program is a great fit to get significant bonus opportunities.
The Urgency bonus program also benefits substitutes when schools cancel jobs with short notice, allowing subs to pick up high-paying jobs when the former job falls through.
More Details on Eligibility
Requirements in the Readiness Center
You need to complete all of the Best Practices materials in the app’s Readiness Center in order to be eligible for bonuses. These materials set you up for success in the classroom, so it is a win-win to get those completed!
Minimum 4-Star Rating
Each school will rate you on a scale of 1-5 stars after you have completed your job.
To be eligible to receive Tier and Urgency bonuses, you must maintain a minimum of a 4-star average rating. If at any time you go below a 4-star average, you are ineligible for bonus pay. This means that the pay for a job may be affected if you receive a low rating for that job and lose the bonus. You can resume bonus eligibility for future jobs when your average rating returns to 4-stars or above.
You are given a 5-star rating by default if a school does not submit a rating after a job; however, default ratings are weighted at 50% while ratings submitted by schools are given 100% weighting.
How is Rating Calculated
Senya does not supervise or assess substitutes' work since they are freelance workers, and therefore, Senya does not give ratings to substitutes. The sub rating is based entirely on the rating submissions by schools after you complete jobs.
It is a "lifetime" rating similar to Google or other sites with reviews, where each job rating can affect your current overall rating positively or negatively. See the Resource page, "5 Tips for Subs," to learn what schools share are the top reasons they give high ratings.
Last-Minute Cancellations
If you accept a job, remember you are committing to the school that you will be there to teach that class. Please don't take that responsibility lightly! We understand that emergencies happen that sometimes necessitate canceling a job. If you do need to cancel, please do all you can to cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the job starting so that another sub has the opportunity to fill the job.
If you cancel less than 24 hours of the job start time, it will be considered a 'Last-Minute Cancellation'. You will be reminded that if you proceed to cancel, you will not be eligible for bonuses for the next 5 consecutive jobs. Your Tier level will show as Tier 1 during the pause in bonuses and will resume your Tier level after the pause. Any jobs worked, even if the bonus is paused, still count toward your monthly job count for Tier progress.
Note that this applies for all jobs canceled within 24 hours of the start time. If you accept a job for tomorrow before checking your schedule, or before thinking through the details (start/end time, travel time, etc.), it will count against your bonus eligibility if you cancel.
If you have 3 last-minute cancellations within a semester, you will be deactivated from the Senya platform.
Last-Minute Cancellation Exception
Senya recognizes that medical and family emergencies do arise. After completing 10 jobs without any cancellations (last-minute or otherwise), you will be allowed 1 last-minute cancellation for the remainder of the semester without a penalty to your bonus eligibility.
Semesters run from July through the end of December and from January through the end of June. You can only earn and use this allowance once per semester. If you have not needed to use this allowance, it will carry over and be available immediately in the next semester; however, you cannot earn additional allowances per semester. If you have questions or wish to use the exception, contact our Customer Support Representative, Caroline, at info@senya.app.
