Labour Research September 2008

Health & Safety Matters

Scottish teachers are suffering stress

Scottish teachers are increasingly taking time off work to deal with stress and depression.

Official figures from the Scottish government show that the average number of working days lost due to stress-related illness and depression was 0.6 per worker a year. But statistics released through a Freedom of Information request show that for teachers in state schools the national figure was over three times this rate, while some Scottish councils reported levels of stress-related absence more than six times higher.