Unpaid overtime ‘worth £4,000 a year’

Jan 5 2008 by Henryk Zientek, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

THE number of employees working unpaid overtime in Yorkshire rose by 38,000 in 2007, a survey has claimed.

Figures from the TUC showed that 381,000 people in the region now regularly put in extra hours at work for no extra pay.

The survey said employees in the region who work unpaid overtime would get an extra £4,039 a year if they were being paid for their efforts. The average amount of unpaid overtime is six hours and thirty minutes a week.

The TUC has calculated that is everyone in the UK who works unpaid overtime did all that unpaid work at the start of the year it would be Friday, February 22 before they started to get paid.

The TUC has chosen that date for Work Your Proper Hours Day – when it will urge workers to stick to their contracted hours to highlight the extra hours they otherwise put in.

Nationally, the number of people working unpaid overtime rose by 103,000 to nearly 5m last year – about one in five of the working population. The average annual value of unpaid overtime in the UK is £4,955 per employee.

TUC general secretary Brenda Barber said:

“People across Yorkshire are giving away over £4,000 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 to take a stand on Work Your Proper Hours Day by making sure they take a lunch break and leave on time.”