Each year, the TUC’s Work Your Proper Hours Day marks the date when the average employee doing unpaid overtime effectively stops working for free. This year, it falls on March 2.
Four in 10 teachers are regularly working unpaid overtime – the most of any profession – according to the TUC research, which is based on analysis of Labour Force Survey data.
It comes at a time when education unions fear that the government is pushing for a pay rise of just 1% or 2% in September 2024. The TUC’s figures have poured fuel on the fire.
And the Department for Education (DfE) has not helped matters after it missed the deadline for submitting evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) ahead of its 2024 pay deliberations.
Overall, in 2023, the TUC figures show that 13.2% of employees worked unpaid overtime, putting in an average of 7.2 hours a week, which would be worth £7,209 if remunerated. It means that UK employers benefited from £26bn of free labour in 2023.
Teachers top the list for unpaid overtime, with 40% working regular unpaid hours. These colleagues are putting in an average of 26.3 unpaid overtime hours a week – worth an average of £15,047 a year.
The annual figures are usually a cause of frustration among teaching professionals but more so this year given they were published as the DfE missed the official deadline of February 21 for submitting evidence to the STRB.
Unions are already suspicious of the DfE’s intentions for teacher pay given that its remit letter to the STRB in December urged restraint. The National Education Union (NEU) fears the DfE is pushing for a pay award of 1% or 2%. This despite the fact that high rates of inflation will have wiped out most of the 6.5% pay award agreed after industrial action last year.
A joint statement from four unions – the NEU, NAHT, ASCL, and Community – expressed “very serious frustration and disquiet” at the missed deadline. They have also written to the STRB to raise their concerns.
It states: “When our industrial dispute with the government was resolved last summer (education secretary) Gillian Keegan gave us an undertaking that she would do everything possible to deliver a timely pay settlement this year. This pledge has fallen at its first two hurdles. First an extremely late remit letter, sent to the STRB just days before Christmas, and now another delay. It is simply unacceptable.
“At best, it shows a complete and utter disregard for the dedicated professionals working in our schools who have faced a decade of real-terms pay cuts. This makes it even more important that the government comes up with a fair proposal on pay, which takes seriously the demands of working in schools and the severe recruitment and retention crisis, addresses the pay cuts against inflation, and ensures our members do not face any delay in receiving this year’s award.”
Commenting on its research, TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “Most workers don’t mind putting in extra hours from time to time. But unpaid overtime is out of control for teachers. And nobody should be expected to work without pay for all the hours they do.”
The Workload Reduction Taskforce was set-up as part of the negotiated settlement that ended last year’s teacher strike action. It has seen the four major education unions – ASCL, NEU, NASUWT and NAHT – working with the DfE to reach agreement across a range of areas.
The taskforce is committed to reducing the average working hours for teachers and schools leaders by five hours a week within the next three years. It is due to make final recommendations by the end of March. It has already led to the end of performance-related pay and reinstatement of the list of administrative tasks that teachers should not be carrying out – among 18 recommendations from its interim report last month
Mr Nowak continued: “The initial recommendations of the workload taskforce have been welcome. But there is plenty that the government should be doing in parallel to the taskforce. And this must include investing more in the pay and conditions of teachers and other education professionals. With many teachers and school support staff burn-out and over-worked the current situation is unsustainable.”
Commenting on the research, Daniel Kebede, NEU general secretary, pointed to the government’s own workload research showing that full-time leaders work an average 57.5 hours a week and full-time teachers 51.9 – both above UK Working Time Regulations.
He said: “Recent steps to abolish performance-related pay and reintroduce the list of admin and clerical tasks not to be undertaken by teachers and leaders are welcome, but do not go far enough. If the government is serious about raising the achievement of all pupils, then it must be serious about reducing teacher workload and improving wellbeing.
"This requires urgent changes to the current punitive accountability regime, a plan to reduce class sizes, increase PPA time, and a faster solution to the teacher recruitment and retention crisis. Such sensible measures, accompanied with appropriate funding and resources, will reduce teacher workload to more manageable levels, increase morale, improve teacher professionalism and aid retention.”
Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary at the NASUWT, said that their own research of 7,000 teachers showed that 60.4% worked average hours of between 50 hours and 69 hours a week, with 20.9% working 60 to 69 hours.
He said: "This is unsustainable and unacceptable. Teachers are seeing their workloads piled higher and higher, and with cuts to support staff and cuts to other children’s services, teachers are now working around the clock.
“The government’s refusal to protect teachers’ contractual working hours has helped fuel a ‘work ‘til you drop’ culture. It’s time for a limit on workload and working hours.”