Commenting on the TUC’s 18th annual Work Your Proper Hours Day (Fri 25 Feb), as new analysis shows that nearly a third of teachers did unpaid overtime in 2021, up from a quarter in 2020, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said:

“Once again, teachers top the list of professions working significant unpaid overtime. Even before Covid-19, it was widely acknowledged that teachers and school leaders’ working hours had reached unsustainable levels. During the pandemic, their working week has got longer still. OECD data shows that teachers in this country work longer hours for less money than their international peers. The government urgently needs to do more to convince both graduates and experienced teachers and leaders that education is an attractive, viable and sustainable life-long career choice.”