UK workers now gifting bosses £31 BILLION of unpaid overtime each year

Friday 28 February is ‘Work Your Proper Hours Day’ – when workers are encouraged to take their lunch break and finish on time. And the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has found that UK workers put in £31 billion worth of unpaid overtime during the last year.

Work Your Proper Hours Day

UK workers put in £31 billion of unpaid overtime, according to new analysis published for Work Your Proper Hours Day by the TUC.

It is the TUC’s 21st annual Work Your Proper Hours Day. On this day, workers are encouraged to take the breaks they are entitled to and finish their shifts on time. And managers are encouraged to support staff by setting reasonable workloads and putting in place workplace policies to protect against burnout.

It found that teachers and health care managers are most likely to do unpaid overtime

Unpaid overtime: main TUC findings

The topic is an issue for millions of workers. 3.8 million people did unpaid overtime in 2024, putting in an average of 7.2 extra hours a week. For those workers, that’s equivalent on average to £8,000 a year of wages for free.

There are large regional variations. In 2024, London had the highest proportion of workers doing unpaid overtime, at 17%, compared to 13% nationally. (See table 2 in notes)

Occupations with most unpaid overtime in 2024: In terms of the proportion of the workforce doing this, the highest occupations are teaching (38%) and health and care managers (35%)

Gender divides have lessened. Women and men are similarly likely to work unpaid overtime, with 13.2% of women working this compared to 13.1% of men. Women who do free work do 6.8 hours a week compared to 7.5 hours a week for men.

Public sector workforce pressures

The TUC says teachers and health and care managers coming out on top for unpaid overtime highlights the staffing pressures in schools and hospitals.

The union body says that, while government’s plans to recruit 6,500 additional teachers will help to improve levels of work intensity, more engagement is 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.

Nowak added:

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.

My message to workers who are unfairly being forced to put in unpaid hours is that help is on the way.

The Employment Rights Bill will make it easier for people to come together in a union and challenge unfair practices.

Featured image via the Canary