'Work your proper hours' | UK staff worked £26 billion of unpaid overtime last year

UK employers claimed £26 billion of free labour last year because of workers doing unpaid overtime, according to new analysis.

The massive figure was revealed as part of new research by the Trade Union Congress (TUC), alongside the union’s ‘Work Your Proper Hours’ campaign, encouraging employees to take the breaks they are entitled to and finish their shifts on time. Managers are also encouraged to support staff by setting reasonable workloads and putting in place workplace policies to protect against burnout.  

Main findings

• Unpaid overtime is a problem for millions of workers: 3.8 million people did unpaid overtime in 2023, putting in an average of 7.2 unpaid hours a week. For those workers, that’s equivalent on average to £7,200 a year of wages going unpaid for work done.

• Occupations with most unpaid overtime in 2023: This year teachers top the list for both the proportion of staff doing unpaid overtime (40%) and the average weekly overtime across all employees (4.4 hours). Chief executives, managers and directors feature strongly, suggesting that the additional responsibilities of senior staff are not properly managed by employers.

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