A third of independent school teachers have taken a second job to make ends meet, according to a survey by the NEU teaching union.
Some 35 per cent of private school teachers and 56 per cent of support staff have taken on another job, the NEU revealed in its poll of private school members.
Meanwhile, 64 per cent of independent school teachers have taken on private tuition, and 29 per cent of support staff are doing overtime to tackle the cost-of-living crisis.
The survey included 4,000 teachers and 750 support staff members in England and Wales.
Teachers taking on second jobs
One teacher told the NEU that they were “working in bars and restaurants during holiday and tutoring during term time”, while another was taking on “nannying and babysitting” work.
The survey comes after the government’s policy to place 20 per cent VAT on independent school fees came into force this January.
Last month, the NEU began a formal strike ballot of around 400 teacher members working at 14 of United Learning’s independent schools in a dispute over pay.
The NEU said that pay increases in independent schools “continue to lag behind the state sector”.
In 2024-25, 12 per cent of teachers in private schools received an increase that matched or bettered the state sector pay award of 5.5 per cent.
However, 24 per cent did not receive any pay uplift, and 45 per cent received less than the state sector minimum of 2.5 per cent.
The vast majority (89 per cent) received less than the state maximum of 5.7 per cent.
One support staff member told the NEU that their ”wage is that low that I qualify to be able to claim benefits from the government and I use a food bank weekly.”
The union warned that pay issues for support staff are compounded by 55 per cent being paid for term time only.
Last week, the NEU launched a preliminary strike ballot over the government’s recommendation of a 2.8 per cent pay award for teachers.
VAT policy impact on terms and conditions
The NEU also asked if the introduction of VAT on fees had had a detrimental impact on staff terms and conditions in schools.
Responding to the survey, 26 per cent of teachers and 24 per cent of support staff said that recruitment in some areas has been frozen; 22 per cent of both groups said there had been “some redundancies”.
Some 30 per cent reported a lower cost-of-living increase as a result of the government’s policy.
However, 48 per cent of support staff and 31 per cent of teachers had not observed any changes to pay and conditions as a result of VAT.
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU, warned that staff in private schools are “seeing their standard of living eroded by the continuing cost-of-living crisis”.
He added that employers will use the government’s VAT policy “as an excuse to continue with more of the same” and cautioned that the NEU will take on these employers should the need arise.
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