Over 4 million UK employees worked unpaid overtime last year, according to the Trades Union Congress, but employers are beginning to take action to stop this trend. Just under 4.8 million employees worked extra hours last year without being paid, compared with almost 4.9 million in 2004 and over 5.2 million in 2003.
On average, employees worked an additional 7 hours and 24 minutes per week, which is almost a full days work! Londoners did the most unpaid overtime at 8.2 hours a week. Workers in Wales worked an extra 7.8 hours unpaid.
There is a higher instance of long hours in companies with more than 500 employees. Those in firms with less than 25 staff were the least likely to work unpaid.
Our view
Britain has been and is a traditionally hardworking, entrepreneriual nation. Nothing has changed in the last 500 years.