The number of employees working unpaid overtime in Scotland increased by 20,000 in 2007, bringing the total to 436,000, according to a new analysis of official statistics published by the STUC and TUC today (Friday).
Employees who work unpaid overtime would receive an extra £4,517 a year if they were paid for the extra hours they are putting in – an increase of £202 per person after inflation is taken into account. The average amount of unpaid overtime is 6 hours and 54 minutes a week.
The STUC has calculated that if everyone in the UK who works unpaid overtime did all their unpaid work at the start of the year, the first day they would get paid would be Friday 22 February.
That is why the STUC and TUC have declared Friday 22nd February ‘Work Your Proper Hours Day’ and are calling on employers to say thank you to staff for putting in the extra hours and ensure that they work their proper hours.
The number of employees working unpaid overtime across the UK increased by 103,000 to nearly five million – about one in five of the working population. The average annual value of unpaid overtime in the UK is £4,955 per employee.
STUC General Secretary Grahame Smith said: “After years of progress, Scotland’s long hours culture is enjoying an unwelcome renaissance and today’s figures suggest many people are not even being paid for putting in these extra hours. Workers in Scotland are giving away over £4,500 a year in unpaid overtime – that’s too much time and money that could be better spent with friends and family.
“We’re calling on all Scotland’s employees, including bosses, to take a stand on ‘Work Your proper Hours Day’ by making sure they take a proper lunch break and leave on time. ‘Work Your Proper Hours Day’ should be fun, and we want work people across Scotland to back our campaign and send out a message that excessive unpaid overtime is bad for staff and bad for business.“ ENDS Contacts: Media enquiries: Kevin Buchanan 0141 337 8100