Workers putting in billions of pounds of unpaid overtime – report

Workers put in £31 billion worth of unpaid overtime last year, with teachers and health and care managers working the longest hours for free, research suggests.

The TUC urged people to work their proper hours and take breaks and encouraged managers to set reasonable workloads.

The union organisation dubbed Friday Work Your Proper Hours Day to highlight the cost to workers of doing so much unpaid overtime.

The TUC said its study indicated that 3.8 million people worked unpaid overtime in 2024, putting in an average of 7.2 unpaid hours a week, equivalent to an average to £8,000 a year of lost wages.

London had the highest proportion of workers doing unpaid overtime, at 17%, compared to 13% nationally, while occupations with most unpaid overtime were teaching and health and care managers, which the TUC said highlighted staffing pressures in schools and hospitals.

The TUC said government plans to recruit 6,500 additional teachers will help to improve levels of work intensity, more engagement was needed on workforce issues across the public sector.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “Most workers don’t mind putting in extra hours from time to time, but they should be paid for it.

“This analysis shows once again the staffing pressures in our public services that have been driven by 14 years of Tory mismanagement.

“It is really important the new government engages with its workforce on issues like workloads to stop staff leaving our schools and hospitals.

“We are encouraging every worker to take their lunchbreak and finish on time today, and we know that good employers will support them doing that.”

Ruth Wilkinson, head of policy at the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, said: “It’s concerning that people are working so many additional hours, especially without pay.

“This ‘always-on’ culture not only blurs the boundaries between work and home life, it impacts on people’s opportunities to have sufficient rest, something which is potentially harmful as it can cause burnout and other health and safety issues.

“The knock-on effect of this is more people being on sick leave.”

Published: 28/02/2025 by Radio NewsHub