Staff have more unpaid overtime days than holidays

Tired of working past six and not receiving a penny more for it? You’re not the only one. Britain’s workforce clocks up more than £43bn worth of unpaid overtime every year, according to new research by Reed.co.uk.

The research revealed that one in five employees work an extra days worth of work in overtime every week. But only 40% are actually paid for the additional hours they’re putting in.

More than two thirds of those surveyed admitted to doing some form of overtime, whether working late or from home.

Employees are working the same amount in overtime as they receive in holiday days, with an average of 24 days overtime over the year.

60% of workers confessed to working through lunch regularly and nearly half of those surveyed said they often worked late.

The research found that teachers and engineers are the most likely to toil away after hours, working an average of six hours overtime each week.

58% of those surveyed attributed their extra hours to workload demands, with staff shortages being the second most cited reason for working overtime.

Communications Manager at Reed Lynn Cahillane said: “This is yet more evidence of how hard the UK works. The extent to which people are willing to go above and beyond in the name of getting the job done is a positive reflection of our attitude to work and testament to how much we value our jobs.”

She added that this is great news for employers even though businesses should be careful they do not become over reliant on these hardworkers who are always prepared to go the extra mile.