Companies in Wales claimed £937 million of free labour last year because of workers’ doing unpaid overtime, according to new analysis of official statistics published today (Friday) by Wales TUC.
More than 160,000 people put in an average of 7.6 hours a week in unpaid overtime during 2018. On average, that’s equivalent to having £5,704 taken out of individual pay packets.
Today is Wales TUC’s 15th annual Work Your Proper Hours Day, marking the fact that the average person doing unpaid overtime has effectively worked the year so far for free.
Wales TUC Policy Officer Nisreen Mansour said:
“It’s not okay for bosses to steal their workers’ time.
“Lots of us are willing to put in a few extra hours when it’s needed, but too many employers are taking advantage.
“Overworking staff hurts productivity, leaves workers’ stressed and exhausted and eats into time that should be spent with family and friends.
“Bosses who do steal people’s time should face consequences. So we’re calling for new rights to ensure that employers who break the rules on working time can be brought to employment tribunals.”
Notes to editors:
Key findings
Table 1 – Unpaid overtime by region and value
Nation / region |
Number working unpaid overtime |
Proportion working unpaid overtime |
Average weekly hours of unpaid overtime |
Average gross hourly pay |
Total value per week (£000s) |
Total value per year (£m) |
Annual value per worker |
Wales |
164,000 |
12.9% |
7.6 |
£14.40 |
18,021 |
937 |
£5,704 |
UK |
5,014,000 |
18.2% |
7.5 |
£16.75 |
628,395 |
32,677 |
£6,532 |
Table 3 – unpaid overtime for occupations with longest average unpaid hours
Occupation |
Number employees working unpaid overtime |
Per cent working unpaid overtime |
Average unpaid hours |
Teaching and educational professionals |
735,000 |
52.5% |
12.1 |
Chief Executive |
41,000 |
39.5% |
11.4% |
Legal professionals |
69,000 |
42.5% |
10.2 |
Hospitality and catering managers |
40,000 |
17.6% |
9.7 |
Functional managers* |
374,000 |
40.4% |
9.2 |
Production managers |
133,000 |
32.1% |
8.9 |
88,000 |
32.7% |
8.9 |
|
Finance institution managers |
35,000 |
42.3% |
8.9 |
Senior officers in the protective services |
15,000 |
28.4% |
8.7 |
Welfare professionals |
50,000 |
31.3% |
8.5 |
Source: Wales TUC’s analysis used unpublished ONS data from the Labour Force Survey (July-September 2018) and the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (2018)
*Functional managers: financial managers, marketing and sales directors, purchasing managers, advertising and public relations directors, human resource managers, IT managers.
Wales TUC is the voice of Wales at work. With 49 member unions, Wales TUC represents just over 400,000 workers. We campaign for a fair deal at work and for social justice at home and abroad.
Contacts:
TUC press office
media@tuc.org.uk
020 7467 1248
Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin
nnimhaoileoin@tuc.org.uk
020 7467 1288
07771 713574
Emma Bean
ebean@tuc.org.uk
020 7467 1257
07725 144 696
Tim Nichols
tnichols@tuc.org.uk
020 7467 1388
078 0876 1844
Wales TUC Cymru
029 2034 7010