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Unpaid overtime increases across the UK
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13/02/2008
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The number of employees working unpaid overtime increased by 103,000 in 2007, bringing the total to nearly five million, according to a new analysis of official statistics published by the TUC.
Employees who work unpaid overtime would receive an extra £4,955 a year if they were paid for the extra hours they are putting in. The average amount of unpaid overtime is seven hours and six minutes a week.
About one in five of the working population work unpaid overtime. The TUC has calculated that if everyone in the UK who works unpaid overtime did all their unpaid work at the start of the year, the first day they would get paid would be Friday 22 February.
That is why the TUC has declared this 'Work Your Proper Hours Day' and is calling on employers to say thank you to staff for putting in the extra hours and to ensure that they work their proper hours on this day.
The biggest increases in the number of employees working unpaid overtime have occurred in Yorkshire and Humberside (38,000), the Eastern Region (37,000) and London (32,000). The numbers fell sharply in the East Midlands (-57,000) and the North West (-41,000).
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “After years of progress, Britain's long hours culture is enjoying a renaissance and today's figures suggest many people are not even being paid for putting in these extra hours. People are giving away nearly £5,000 a year in unpaid overtime - that's too much time and money that could be better spent with friends and family.
“We're calling on all employees, including bosses, to take a stand on 'Work Your proper Hours Day' by making sure they take a proper lunch break and leave on time. 'Work Your Proper Hours Day' should be fun, and we want work people across the UK to back our campaign and send out a message that excessive unpaid overtime is bad for staff and bad for business.”
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Author
Chris Rowlands
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