Responding to new research by the TUC to mark Work Your Proper
Hours Day, which found that UK employees worked £26bn worth of
unpaid overtime in the last year - with teachers top of the list,
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT,
said:
“Teachers and schools leaders are dedicated professionals who
give so much of themselves to improving the life chances of
children and young people. Increasingly, however, the line
between hard work and truly crushing levels of workload has been
crossed, with the government’s own research last year
showing 50-60 hour working weeks are common.
“This is harming the wellbeing and mental health of dedicated
professionals who have at the same time faced a decade of
real-terms pay cuts, and is a key factor in fuelling the severe
recruitment and retention crisis.
“It’s vital the Workload Reduction Taskforce set up by the
government as part of the deal to settle last year’s dispute with
education unions agrees further tangible action to ease workload
and reduce working hours and that its proposals are implemented
by ministers. Immediate action to reduce workload and
stress associated with a broken inspection system is an urgent
priority.
“This must be supported by proper government investment to
address issues like funding, SEND provision and underfunding of
public services which support families - all of which contribute
to heavy workload for school leaders and their staff.”
