date: February 26 2004 embargo: 00:01 hours Friday February 27 2004

Attention: newsdesks, industrial, social affairs, planning desks

Take lunch, leave on time - today’s ‘Work Your Proper Hours Day’

Employees up and down the country will come to work today (Friday) at their proper starting time, take a proper lunch break and leave on time as part of the TUC’s first ever ‘Work Your Proper Hours day’. Today has been chosen by the TUC as it is the first day people who do unpaid overtime would get paid if they did all their unpaid overtime at the beginning of the year.

The day has been called as part of the TUC's 'It's about time' campaign aimed at calling a halt to the UK's long hours culture, and giving staff a better work/life balance.

According to official statistics (from which all the figures for this campaign have been taken) five million people regularly do unpaid overtime in the UK, and do an average of 7 hours 24 minutes each week. If they were paid, they would get £23 billion extra in pay or £4,500 extra a year each.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'We are not saying that we should become a nation of clockwatchers. But we do work the longest hours in Europe, and the biggest growth has been among people doing unpaid overtime. In too many workplaces this gets taken for granted, with the loyalty and commitment of staff rarely recognised. So we're saying that just for one day a year staff should work their proper hours, and leave on time - preferably to be bought a coffee or cocktail by their grateful boss.'

What’s going on

Media opportunity: light-hearted demo against long hours, Friday 8am - 8.30am, Liverpool Street Station, outside Liverpool St entrance to middle of the station (platform 10), call TUC press office for contact details. Protesters will leaflet commuters urging them to work their proper hours and wave placards with slogans including:

‘WHAT DO WE WANT? - LUNCH - WHEN DO WE WANT IT? - NOW’

‘PLEASE RELEASE ME - LET ME GO’

‘TGIF’

‘LET’S DO LUNCH’

‘WHAT TIME DO YOU GET OFF?’

All week employees have been using the calculator on the TUC’s world of work website http://www.worksmart.org.uk/ to work out how much their unpaid overtime is worth and the day that they stop working for free and start to get paid.

The TUC has also published an unpaid overtime league table that shows which jobs carry the most unpaid overtime at http://www.tuc.org.uk/extras/unpaidovertimeleague.pdf. Top groups include senior civil servants, teachers and health professionals.

Thousands of employees have been spreading the word through www.workSMART.org.uk by downloading desk signs and posters saying ‘If you’re looking for me I’ve gone home on time’ and sending Work Your Proper Hours e-cards to friends and colleagues. Also, radio stations across the country will be playing the ‘Work Your Proper Hours day’ top ten and getting listeners to make their own suggestions for the soundtrack for the day at: http://www.worksmart.org.uk/workyourproperhoursday/music.php

Staff at Mason Richards Partnership, a firm of architects in Halesowen, Birmingham, will definitely be have a proper lunch as they’ve won a Heart FM competition to have Liberty X play a private concert in their offices today. [media opportunities available through TUC press office]

Most importantly employees will make the most of their own time by meeting friends or doing something else they enjoy during their lunch break or after work.

Time to end long hours

The TUC is campaigning against the UK's long hours culture. Other European countries manage to work fewer hours but have higher productivity and standards of living. In particular the TUC wants:

• an end to the UK's individual opt-out of the European limit to an average 48 hour working week. The UK is the only EU member that applies this opt-out to all employees

• better enforcement of the existing working time rules

• the loophole in UK law closed that uniquely allows UK employers to count public holidays against the European minimum entitlement of 4 weeks paid holiday.

A long hours fact file can be found at http://www.tuc.org.uk/work_life/tuc-7285-f0.cfm?theme=itsabouttime

Notes to Editors:

Contacts:

Media enquiries: Ben Hurley 020 7467 1248 or 07626 317903 (pager) or email bhurley@tuc.org.uk

Media enquiries: Liz Chinchen 020 7467 1248 or 07699 744115 (pager) or email media@tuc.org.uk

Press release (800 words) issued 27 Feb 2004