European Trade Union Committee for Education

The safety and health of teachers is a priority of ETUCE. ETUCE believes a school should be a safe, healthy and propitious place for teaching and learning. Schools are the workplace of teachers, but first and foremost they are educational institutions for young students. Occupational health and safety problems can thus be harmful not only for the workforce (teachers and other staff in education), but can indirectly harm the pupils and put at risk the quality and efficiency of the education provided.

• Work related stress
• Social Partners Promoting Decent Workplaces in Education (2014-2015)
• Evaluation of the Impact of Psychosocial Hazards on Teachers (2010-2011)
• Implementing the ETUCE Action Plan on Work-Related Stress (2009)
• Improving Expertise on Teachers' Work-Related Stress (2007)

Policy

ETUCE believes a school should be a safe, healthy and propitious place for teaching and learning. Schools are the workplace of teachers, but first and foremost they are educational institutions for young students. Stress can thus be harmful not only for the workforce (teachers and other staff in education), but can indirectly harm the pupils and put at risk the quality and efficiency of the education provided.

The challenge of preventing and tackling work-related stress is consequently an issue for employers in education. There is furthermore a legal obligation for employers, under the European and national laws, to take action on stress, and in particular the necessary steps for a suitable risk assessment at the workplace. This risk assessment is the most appropriate process for managing work-related stress, aiming at identifying the hazards at the workplace of all school staff and consequently taking the appropriate actions to prevent, reduce and eliminate stress amongst teachers.