‘Daylight robbery’: two in five UK teachers work 26 hours for free each week

Teaching unions have accused ministers of “daylight robbery” after a new survey by the Trades Union Congress revealed that teachers perform the most unpaid overtime of any profession.

The TUC survey – published to mark its Work Your Proper Hours Day on Friday – found that two out of five teaching staff in the UK worked 26 hours for free each week, for a combined 5.5m hours a year.

Patrick Roach, the general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, said it was “shameful evidence” that the government was relying on free labour rather than investing in schools and colleges.

“The fact that teachers are losing out on average by £15,000 a year in unpaid overtime is nothing less than daylight robbery,” Roach said.

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“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.

“Our latest research found that more than half of teachers polled worked over 50 hours a week, with some working more than 70 hours. This is unsustainable and unacceptable.

“World-class education cannot be built off the backs of overworked and underpaid teachers and headteachers.”

The figures come as the Department for Education in England will miss its deadline for making its submission to the annual pay round, leading to protests by school leaders over the potential delays in reaching a settlement.

The TUC survey placed teachers ahead of chief executives, managers and directors for the number of hours they worked.

Paul Nowak, the TUC general secretary, 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.”

Overall, 3.8 million workers in the UK worked unpaid overtime last year, according to the survey, doing more than seven unpaid hours each week. The TUC estimated that was equivalent to £7,200 a year of wages going unpaid.

Despite the concerns of the Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, public sector staff were more likely to put in unpaid overtime than their peers in the private sector. The survey found that one in six public sector workers did unpaid overtime in 2023, amounting to £11bn, compared with one in nine in the private sector.

The TUC’s campaign aims to encourage workers to take all the breaks they are entitled to, and finish their shifts on time.