date: 12 February 2008

embargo: 00.01 Friday 15 February

Media professionals give away nearly £6,000 a year in unpaid overtime

Media professionals are giving away £5,884 a year in unpaid overtime, according to a new analysis of official statistics released today (Friday) by the TUC.

The TUC has found that people working in the media, including journalists, public relations officers, photographers and broadcasters, are fifty per cent more likely to work unpaid overtime as the rest of the working population, making the industry one of the worst offenders when it comes to unpaid overtime.

Four in ten (40.3%) media professionals work an average of six hours 42 minutes unpaid overtime every week, worth £5,884 a year per person. Across the sector, 49,000 employees are working unpaid overtime, worth a total of £288 million a year.

To honour this overlooked and unrewarded contribution to the UK economy, the TUC has named Friday 22 February 'Work Your Proper Hours Day'. If employees did all their unpaid overtime at the start of the year, 22 February would be the first day they would get paid. The TUC is encouraging bosses to thank their staff for all the extra time they put in at work, and to ensure they take a proper lunch break and leave work on time.

In the run-up to 'Work Your Proper Hours Day', the TUC is scouring the country for the best and worst workplaces for unpaid overtime. By taking our interactive quiz, available at www.workyourproperhoursday.com, people can find out whether they have a long hours problem, rate workplaces (past and present) for work-life balance and post a message on the 'Work Your Proper Hours Day' rant blog, which will be added to our unpaid overtime map of Britain.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'The media industry is notorious for its long hours culture and today's figures show that many employees are not getting paid for putting in all those extra hours. In sectors such as PR, where working time is closely monitored for clients, the same rules don't apply to staff.

'Long hours and unpaid overtime will always be part of the media industry. But on 'Work Your Proper Hours Day' we want bosses to thank staff for all the extra effort they put in. They could even show their appreciation by chipping in for those much needed after work drinks.

'We also want staff to honour the day by taking a proper lunch break and leaving work on time. In the longer term, the media industry should make an effort to curb the worst excesses of unpaid overtime.'

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The new 'Work Your Proper Hours Day' website, including the interactive quiz, rant blog and unpaid overtime map of Britain are available at www.workyourproperhoursday.com

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

- Register for the TUC's press extranet: a service exclusive to journalists wanting to access pre-embargo releases and reports from the TUC. Visit www.tuc.org.uk/pressextranet

Contacts:

Media enquiries:
Rob Holdsworth T: 020 7467 1372 M: 07717 531150 E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk

Press release (600 words) issued 15 Feb 2008