Jessica O'ConnorUK teachers are giving away the equivalent of 67 days of unpaid labour each school year, according to new analysis by GoStudent, which examined working patterns, overtime and holiday hours.
The data revealed that teachers’ “first paid day” does not fall until 4th December, once unpaid overtime is accounted for.
GoStudent’s study, based on a UK-wide survey and time-use analysis, highlighted the scale of unpaid work taking place across term time and school holidays.
According to the findings, teachers routinely add almost 14 extra hours a week to their contracted workload, largely driven by lesson planning, marking and resource creation.
More than two-thirds said staff shortages are pushing hours even higher.
The research also revealed the extent to which school holidays are consumed by work.
Across the UK’s 13 weeks of annual break, teachers spend more than 100 hours on preparation, planning and admin tasks, equivalent to over two and a half working weeks.
Many reported returning to school already exhausted, with 66% saying they dread the start of term.
GoStudent’s analysis showed the cumulative effect of these hours results in more than a full term of unpaid labour.
Teachers said the long hours are taking a toll: 76% reported that overtime harms their mental health, while 69% said extended working hours regularly affect their wellbeing.
The findings come as government recruitment targets remain under pressure.
With more than two-thirds of teachers reporting that staffing shortages are driving additional workload, a pledge to recruit 6,500 teachers by 2029 is viewed by many as misaligned with conditions in classrooms.
Teachers also repored financial strain, with 58% regularly using personal money to buy school supplies.
Almost three-quarters said that government support for tackling workload and compensation is insufficient.
The analysis also pointed to growing interest in artificial intelligence (AI) tools as a potential workload reducer.
Over half of UK teachers said they have already begun experimenting with AI to support classroom tasks, but 74% reported receiving no training.
GoStudent argued that applied properly, AI could help reduce routine pressures by assisting with tasks such as resource creation, drafting lesson sequences and handling administrative templates.
Felix Ohswald, CEO of GoStudent, said: “Time is the most valuable resource in any classroom.
“Teachers cannot continue to carry the weight of invisible hours. By exposing the scale of the problem and offering safe, practical ways to claw time back, we can start to give teachers their evenings, weekends, and holidays back.
“They deserve better. And so do their students.”
