Teachers most likely professionals to work overtime, survey suggests

According to a survey of 1,500 people conducted by Reed, teachers are among the professionals who are mostly likely to work unpaid overtime.

The research outlined that the incidence of working unpaid overtime in the teaching profession is considered a fundamental part of the job. The survey concluded that teachers are seen as the hardest workers among a nation of hard workers.

Engineers were also found to work high rates of unpaid overtime.

The findings suggested that one in five employees in England work over a day of overtime per week, with two thirds of workers racking up four hours of overtime each week. On average, teachers and engineers work around six hours of unpaid overtime each week.

60 per cent of teachers which responded to the survey claimed they often worked through lunch, while 50 per cent maintained they regularly stayed late after school.

Commenting on the findings, a spokeswoman for Reed said: “Businesses should always be cautious of becoming over-reliant on the heroic efforts of those members of staff who are always prepared and able to go the extra mile.”