Are You Working for Free ?

The government's own statisticians, the Office of National Statistics, has revealed that British workers are undertaking £29 billion of unpaid overtime each year. The TUC has used the figures to estimate that a record 5.26 million people worked unpaid overtime last year, worth £28.9bn to the UK economy.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:

"These figures shine a light on the valuable but too often unrewarded extra hours that UK workers put in every week. Employers should do more to recognise the unpaid overtime that their staff do, which contributes £29bn to the UK economy every year.

But while average hours are falling across the economy - both as a result of the recession and changes in working practices - UK workers are still doing the third longest shifts in Europe, with only Austrians and Greeks working longer. Smarter working practises and an end to pointless presenteeism would help make staff more productive and get a better work-life balance."

The TUC promotes Work your Proper Hours Day every year- you can read more at the website here.