The Work Your Proper Hours Day campaign is run every year by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to raise awareness of just how much free work UK workers put in.
In 2024, the TUC’s analysis – which is based on the Labour Force Survey statistics – shows that UK workers put in £31bn of unpaid overtime, with an average of 7.2 unpaid hours a week. This would be the equivalent of £8,000 in wages going unpaid.
And as so often in this annual research, teachers topped the list of professions putting in the most unpaid overtime. The TUC estimates that 38% of those working in teaching/education put in unpaid hours – the most of any profession.
Last term, the Department for Education’s annual Working lives of teachers and leaders research – based on data from 2023 – found that working hours were increasing. It reported:
- Full-time school leaders are working 58.2 hours a week (up from 57.5 in 2022).
- Full-time teachers are working 52.4 hours a week (up from 51.9).
- Primary school leaders are working 57 hours a week (up from 56.2) while secondary leaders work 58.5 hours a week (up from 58.3).
- Primary teachers are working 50 hours a week (up from 49.1) while secondary teachers work 48.9 hours a week (up from 48.5).
Speaking this week, TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “Most workers don’t mind putting in extra hours from time to time, but they should be paid for it. It is really important the new government engages with its workforce on issues like workloads to stop staff leaving our schools and hospitals.”
Responding to the figures, Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of NASUWT, said: "The fact that teachers are once again at the top of the list of occupations working unpaid overtime is yet further shameful evidence of the failure to invest properly in our schools and colleges.
"While teachers are continuing to see their workloads piled higher and higher, we need a national workforce plan to address the underlying causes of excessive workload and keep more teachers in the profession. It’s time for a national mission to end the long working hours which are continuing to drive teacher burnout and fuel the crisis in teacher recruitment and retention.”