Around a third of teachers and support staff in independent schools have been forced to take on extra paid work, citing the cost-of-living crisis and low annual pay increases due to VAT on fees, a survey finds.
A National Education Union (NEU) poll of 4,000 teacher and 750 support staff members in England and Wales also revealed that 22 per cent of respondents鈥 schools had made redundancies as a result of VAT on fees.
A total of 24 per cent of teachers said they had not received a cost-of-living pay award for 2024/25.
The results prompted NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede to say that employers should not use the Government鈥檚 VAT policy 鈥渁s an excuse” to continue to depress pay and pension packages.
Promising that his union would 鈥渞obustly defend鈥 its members, he said employers 鈥渕ust not make the mistake of thinking they have carte blanche to do as they wish鈥.
The survey found that 32 per cent of teachers and 29 per cent of support staff say the cost-of-living crisis has forced them into additional paid work.
Nearly two thirds (64 per cent) of teachers taking on extra work said they did private tuition and over a third (35 per cent) said they took second jobs.
Fifty-six per cent of support staff with additional work said they had taken second jobs while 20 per cent said they did private tuition.
鈥淚 now have to tutor as can’t afford to live on my teacher salary alone, after 20 years of being in the profession,鈥 one teacher told the survey.
One member of support staff said: 鈥淚 work two jobs a day, when I finish at school I go straight to an evening job.鈥
Another said their wage was so low they qualified to claim benefits and use a weekly food bank.
The survey revealed how private sector pay increases are lagging behind the state sector, with only around 12 per cent of teachers saying their pay increase for 2024/25 matched or bettered the state sector pay award of 5.5 per cent.
A quarter of teachers responding to the survey said they had no pay rise in 2024/25, and around a third said they had between 2 and 4 per cent.
| What cost of living increases did you receive for the academic year 2024/25? | Teachers |
| 0% | 24% |
| 0.1%-1.% | 8% |
| 1.1%-1.9% | 11% |
| 2%-4% | 34% |
| 4.1%-5.4% | 8% |
| 5.5% (state sector teacher award) | 9% |
| 5.6%-7% | 2% |
| Over 7% | 0.5% |
| Other | 4% |
The situation for support staff was also bleak, with nearly 20 per cent receiving no annual pay rise in 2024/25.
| What cost of living increases did you receive for the academic year 2024/25? | Support Staff |
| 0% | 19.5% |
| 0.1%-1.% | 6.5% |
| 1.1%-1.9% | 7% |
| 2%-2.4% | 12% |
| 2.5% (minimum award for state sector) | 17.5% |
| 2.6%-4% | 17% |
| 4.1%-5.6% | 9% |
| 5.7% (maximum award for state sector) | 1% |
| 5.8%-7% | 3% |
| Over 7% | 0.5% |
| Other | 7% |
The survey also revealed how VAT on fees has impacted staff in independent schools, including redundancies and recruitment freezes.
A total of 22 per cent of teachers and support staff said their schools had made redundancies as a result of VAT on fees.
| Has the introduction of VAT on fees had a detrimental impact on staff terms and conditions in your school? | Teachers | Support Staff |
| Not that I am aware | 31% | 47.5% |
| Some redundancies | 22% | 22% |
| Recruitment in some areas frozen | 26% | 24% |
| A lower cost of living increase | 30% | 17% |
| Detrimental changes to pay in other respects | 18% | 10% |
| Detrimental proposals on pension | 26% | 9% |
Commenting on the findings,聽Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU, said:
鈥淪taff in private schools are seeing their standard of living eroded by the continuing cost of living crisis. That is why members have become so energised by campaigns launched by the NEU in recent years, which have taken on workload, attacks on pensions and 鈥渇ire and rehire鈥 strategies designed to undermine the workforce and worsen pay and conditions.
鈥淓mployers will use the Government鈥檚 VAT policy as an excuse to continue with more of the same. They must not make the mistake of thinking they have carte blanche to do as they wish. The NEU will take on those employers and will robustly defend our members, as the largest union of teachers and support staff in the independent sector.鈥
