Stressed teachers look for support

There is an urgent need for effective action to tackle work-related stress, the NASUWT teaching union in Wales heard at its annual conference.

The conference was told that punishing teachers for taking sick leave was not the answer to dealing with absence caused by work -related stress.

Stress and anxiety are one of the main causes of teacher sickness absence, and rather than creating a “culture of fear around the issue” employers need to tackle it, the conference heard.

Cate Harnsworth from Denbighshire, moving the motion, said: “Teachers need [to] support [those] who are suffering from stress. We need to find solutions for dealing with the issues that lead to work-related stress and stop the fear of capability proceedings from sickness absence.”

Chris Keates, general secretary of NASUWT, said the excessive workload heaped on teachers in Wales had taken its toll on many teachers who are reporting high levels of stress and anxiety.

“There is a growing problem with ‘presenteeism’, where teachers who are genuinely experiencing work-related stress are too afraid to take leave,” she said.

“Instead of examining and treating the causes of this serious issue, employers have focused on reviewing procedures which are aimed at tackling absence with an increasingly punitive approach.

“This fails to address the real issue and is leaving teachers in need of support and help dangerously vulnerable.”

www.nasuwt.org.uk/Whatsnew/NASUWTNews/PressReleases/NASUWTCymruConfSick