The rising cost of living has forced almost one in five (18 per cent) of teachers in England and Wales to take on a second job, according to a NEU teaching union survey.
In a survey of 18,000 NEU members, the figure rose to one in five (20 per cent) among teachers under 30 in English state schools and up to 22 per cent among those in London.
In qualitative interviews included as part of the survey, teachers told the union they regularly used food banks and relied on the income of their partners.
“My husband has a well-paid job which means we are not reliant on my salary to make ends meet; if he did not, I do not believe teaching would be an affordable career choice,” one member said.
The situation was even more pronounced among support staff, with 21 per cent at state schools in England saying they had been forced to take on a second job.
The findings come as the NEU is planning further strike dates after rejecting the government’s pay offer of an average 4.5 per cent rise next year, on top of a £1,000 one-off payment this year.
Other findings in the survey include that 42 per cent of state school teachers in England said they see themselves working in a role outside of education in five years’ time - a similar result to when the survey was completed last year.
And 8 per cent said they had moved to cheaper accommodation as a result of the cost of living, while 24 per cent said they had skipped meals.
Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the NEU, said it was ”a stark reality” for current education staff that so many were having to take on a second job in order “to survive”.
“That so many should be leaving the profession or intend to do so in the very near future can come as no surprise. This doesn’t prevent it from remaining a tragedy and a waste of talent,” he added.
“It is only through a reset on pay and workload that we will begin to overcome this problem. This is obvious to all who work in the profession, and these are the main drivers of the recruitment and retention crisis we have been enduring for far too long.”
The Department for Education was contacted for comment.
