Nursery World - Out of hours

Private sector nursery staff do enjoy one advantage over public sector - they don't work without pay. Mary Evans reports More than half of nursery nurses and teaching and learning support assistants employed by local councils are routinely working overtime each week for either no extra pay or no time off in lieu, according to a survey by the public sector union Unison. This has led to allegations of exploitation.

More than half of nursery nurses and teaching and learning support assistants employed by local councils are routinely working overtime each week for either no extra pay or no time off in lieu, according to a survey by the public sector union Unison. This has led to allegations of exploitation.

The questionnaire, 'Sustaining communities: taking the strain', conducted by MORI, found that one in three nursery nurses and teaching assistants is doing up to four hours unpaid overtime per week, while a further 22 per cent are doing between four and ten hours unpaid per week.

'Quite frankly, the goodwill of support staff is being exploited by schools and local authorities who depend on their commitment to get the job done, without paying them for the hours they actually work,' says Christina McAnea, Unison's national secretary for education staff. 'It is becoming increasingly obvious that school staff pay and conditions need to be reviewed and overhauled.'

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