date: 31 October 2005

embargo: Immediate release

Friday 24 February 2006 is 'Work Your Proper Hours Day'

The TUC's award-winning 'Work Your Proper Hours Day' takes place on Friday 24 February next year. This is when the TUC estimates that people who do unpaid overtime will stop working for free in 2006 and start to get paid. On that day the TUC is urging people who do unpaid overtime to take a proper lunch, and arrive and leave work on time.

This should remind Britain's employers just how much they depend on the goodwill and voluntary extra work of their staff, the TUC says. Indeed the TUC is urging Britain's bosses to take their staff out for lunch, coffee or cocktails on 'Work Your Proper Hours Day' to say thank you for their hard work and commitment.

The leisure, arts, and hospitality industries are being urged by the TUC to make the most of people's spare time on 'Work Your Proper Hours Day' by offering special lunchtime and evening promotions. A marketing pack is available from the TUC press office and at www.workyourproperhoursday.com

'Bosses should put this day in their calendar and make plans to say thanks to their hard-working staff', said TUC Head of Campaigns Nigel Stanley, 'But it's a date that should also be in the leisure, arts and hospitality industry diaries. This popular campaign is a great opportunity to run special promotions on the day to give millions of people lots to do in their extra time at lunch and after work.

''Work Your Proper Hours Day' is a light-hearted way to raise the problem of long hours working in the UK. Most employees like their job and care about their work, it's one of the reasons they put in unpaid extra time. This year we will be providing practical advice on how employers and employees can work smarter to cut their hours and improve the quality of their work.'

'Work Your Proper Hours Day' 2005 recently won the PR Week industry award for the best research based campaign, for more information visit: http://www.prweek.com/uk/events/botn/section/21772

The TUC has used the official Labour Force Survey, which measures unpaid overtime, to work out when 'Work Your Proper Hours Day' will fall.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The campaign building up to Friday 24 February will include viral email and online marketing as well as national, regional and trade media stories. For media with long lead-in times a league table showing which kind of jobs involve the most unpaid overtime will be available in advance of the day, along with case studies, tips and guides on how to go about reducing unpaid overtime and long hours.

- Over a two-month period 'Work Your Proper Hours Day' 2005 achieved more than 850 pieces of media coverage and 40,000 employees visited www.workyourproperhoursday.com

Contacts:

Media enquiries: Ben Hurley T: 020 7467 1248; M: 07881 622416 ; E: bhurley@tuc.org.uk

Press release (500 words) issued 31 Oct 2005