Extreme Overtime On The Increase

The number of people working 'extreme' unpaid overtime of more than ten hours a week increased by 14,000 to nearly 900,000 last year, according a new analysis of official statistics published recently by the TUC to mark Work Your Proper Hours Day.

Teachers and lawyers are the most likely to do 'extreme' unpaid overtime with around one in five employees clocking up an extra 17 hours of free work a week.

According to the TUC, last year over five million people across the UK clocked up an average of seven hours, 12 minutes of unpaid overtime a week worth £27.4bn – or £5,402 each. The TUC analysis shows that teachers, health and social service managers and lawyers are most likely to do unpaid overtime, with around half of all staff in these occupations regularly giving away unpaid hours.

One in four (25.3%) public sector workers worked unpaid overtime in 2009, worth nearly £9bn a year, compared to one in six staff in the private sector (18.3%). Public sector workers are also more likely to do 'extreme' unpaid overtime, according to the TUC analysis.

Single women are more likely to do unpaid overtime than single men, married or co-habiting couples or lone parents – with over one in four women putting in an average of seven hours, 42 minutes free work a week.

TUC General Secretary, Brendan Barber, said:

“One of the features of the recession has been people moving to shorter hours or taking part-time work in order to avoid dole queue. This has also led to a fall in the number of people putting in extra hours at work.

“There has also been a surprise increase in people doing 'extreme' unpaid overtime, with nearly 900,000 workers giving away 18 hours of free work a week last year. There is no direct link between excess overtime and underemployment but those people who are struggling to find enough or indeed any hours to work must be wondering why some workers are doing so much for free.

“Our analysis also disproves the tired stereotype that public sector workers enjoy a feather-bedded working life. In fact they are giving away billions of pounds worth of work for free – and more per person than those in the private sector.

“Staff are understandably doing all they can to help their company recover from the recession – and bosses should thank them for going that extra mile. But working time still needs to be properly managed. A long hours culture is bad for workers' health and family life – whether the hours are paid or not.”

In an opinion piece in the Financial Times, Enterprise Editor, Jonathan Guthrie, said the TUC’s Work Your Proper Hours Day campaign was “misguided” and called it a “clock watcher’s charter”. He wrote:

“The TUC is opening a whole wriggly can of worms here. Staff can only justify sticking to contractual hours if they toil conscientiously throughout. No crafty fags in the loading bay. No perching on a desk edge to chat to Sandra while demolishing a box of Krispy Kremes. And especially no Facebook.” He added that the campaign does not take into account the fact that the “correlation between effectiveness and hours worked is sometimes low.”

Source: workplacelaw.net