A rise in teachers working unpaid overtime during the pandemic is leading to “burnout” and an exodus of newly qualified teachers, a union leader has warned.
A new report published by the TUC today reveals that almost a third (31 per cent) of teachers worked unpaid overtime in 2021, up from a quarter (25 per cent) in 2020.
It reveals that teachers worked among the longest hours of any profession during the pandemic, including healthcare professionals.
The TUC’s analysis of Office for National Statistics (ONS) Labour Force data from July-September 2021 has been published as part of the TUC’s wider Work Your Proper Hours campaign that aims raise awareness about unpaid labour carried out across sectors in the UK.
The organisation is calling on the government to “urgently fix the recruitment and retention crisis in the public sector” as part of a package of measures it says are needed to address the issue.
Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, said that the pandemic had “undoubtedly exacerbated” excessive workload among teachers, adding that a high-quality education should not come at the “expense of teachers’ health and welfare”.
And Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU teaching union, warned that the situation was not sustainable and “is leading to burnout”.
Dr Bousted also warned that significant numbers of recently trained teachers were leaving the profession, pointing to workload as a key reason behind their decisions to quit. She added that the “losses will continue” unless the government tackles the causes.
The TUC’s data analysis shows that teaching professionals worked the fourth-highest level of average unpaid hours overtime per week (3.4 hours) across professions, above health managers and directors.
It showed that a third of teachers worked an average of 11.2 hours overtime per week, up from 10.7 in 2020.
The TUC said the rise was caused by the challenges of keeping schools open for key workers’ pupils while simultaneously providing home learning during the national Covid lockdown, as well as covering for sick and self-isolating colleagues.
A Tes survey in January 2022 revealed that of almost 3,000 teachers surveyed, 67 per cent said their workload was unmanageable.
School leaders have previously warned that this high workload will further worsen the teacher recruitment and supply crisis.
The TUC says that the value of the average annual teacher salary has reduced by £2,000 since 2010 as pay has not been increased in line with inflation.
Dr Bousted also pointed out that teachers are working “far in excess” of their contracted hours for less pay in real terms due to the pay freeze in 2021-22.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union the NAHT, said that even before Covid-19, teachers’ and school leaders’ working hours had reached “unsustainable levels” and that “during the pandemic, their working week has got longer still”.
Mr Whiteman said the government must urgently do more to convince potential and established teachers that education is an “attractive, viable and sustainable lifelong career choice”.
Earlier this month, official DfE data showed that initial teacher training (ITT) applications had plummeted by 24 per cent from the same time last year, amid warnings that the government must take urgent action.
