Overtime Costing Workers £6,000 a Year
Everyone is so used to doing some extra hours during the week, but how much do you think that adds up to?
Reports today from Trade Union Congress have stated that over 5 million Britons work an entire day extra per week. Last year Britons racked up £31.5billion in unpaid overtime. The Trade Union Congress said it works out at 400 hours per year and £6,000 in unpaid wages. The TCU have reported the number of employees working unpaid overtime has fallen since 2014, but compared to 2001 they are still higher.
The report has been broken down into age groups, sectors, gender and regions. People aged 40-44 are most likely to do unpaid overtime. The sectors with the highest number of unpaid overtime workers were teachers at nearly 12 a week, financial institution managers with 11.2, production managers at just over 10 a week and health care and service managers at just under 10 hours a week. The South East has the highest number of people doing overtime at 38.3% while the capital has 25%. The South West has the 4th highest percentage at 20.5%.There was a minuet difference in the gender the number of men working unpaid overtime compared to women was 0.04%. However, men did work 1.4 hours more per week in unpaid overtime.
General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Too many workplaces tolerate a long-hours culture. That is why we are calling on employees to take a stand today on Work Your Proper Hours Day and take a full lunch break and go home on time.”
Ann Francke, chief executive of the Chartered Management Institute, said: “Most of us are comfortable with the idea that a modern workplace requires us to occasionally pitch in out of hours.
“But the ‘always on’ culture must be switched off, with line managers encouraged to support an ‘always willing’ mindset that reflects the give and take necessary for a higher quality of working life.”
Today the Trade Congress Union is asking people to stick to their contracted working hours and also recommending people to take their full lunch break and to leave on time. They suggest that management take a proactive approach and lead by example.
Source: tuc.org.uk & mirror.co.uk
