TUC: UK workers put in £28 billion in unpaid overtime in the last year
NEW TUC ANALYSIS: Workers who do unpaid overtime miss out on £8,100 a year on average - effectively only starting to earn from tomorrow.
This impacts 3.5 million people – close to 1 in 8 workers in the UK regularly do unpaid overtime work.
The Employment Rights Act will make it easier for people to come together in a union and challenge unfair practices – such as being pressured to do unpaid overtime work.
New analysis published today by the TUC (Friday) for Work Your Proper Hours Day shows that UK workers put in £28.5 billion in unpaid overtime in 2025.
This represents a modest improvement from 2024, when unpaid overtime put in by UK workers amounted to close to £31 billion.
However, workers who do unpaid overtime miss out on 6.8 hours of their own time a week – for the benefit of their employer.
In the course of one year, this amounts to a loss of £8,100 for the average person doing unpaid overtime work.
Stronger bargaining rights
The Employment Right Act, which received Royal Assent in December 2025, is set to bring progress in fixing this imbalance.
In particular, the Act is set to:
Place a duty on the employer to inform staff of their right to join a union.
Make it easier for unions to access workplaces and communicate with workers about the benefits of union membership.
Establish a simpler process for statutory union recognition.
These measures will play a key role in ensuring workers benefit from the protection of a union – including when negotiating fair pay for overtime work.
Work Your Proper Hours Day
Today it is the TUC’s 22nd annual Work Your Proper Hours Day.
On this day, workers are encouraged to take the breaks they are entitled to and finish their shifts on time.
And managers are encouraged to support staff by setting reasonable workloads and putting in place workplace policies to protect against burnout.
This is particularly important as the UK is currently facing a national stress epidemic – with almost eight in in ten (79%) union reps taking part in the TUC’s 15th biennial survey reporting stress as one of the main concerns they encounter.
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said:
“Most workers don’t mind putting in extra hours from time to time, but they should be paid for it.
“Yet last year UK workers were denied £28 billion pounds in unpaid overtime.
“This benefits no one – workers forced into unpaid overtime lose out on pay, but are also more likely to face stress and ill health, reducing productivity and performance.”
“There’s no doubt about it that some bad employers exploit workers’ commitment and graft.
“That’s why the Employment Rights Act is so important – it will make it easier for people to come together in a union and challenge unfair practices, including being pressured to work overtime for free.
“We are encouraging every worker to take their lunchbreak and finish on time today. And we know that good employers will support them doing that.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
-Methodology:
Work Your Proper Hours Day falls on 27 February. This is the day before 28 February which is the day that workers who do unpaid overtime effectively start being paid for their hours. This was calculated using the Labour Force Survey 2025 Q2 to determine the proportion of hours per year that are unpaid for workers who do unpaid overtime.
| 2025 |
Number of employees working unpaid overtime | 3,500,000 |
% of employees working unpaid overtime | 11.9% |
Total weekly hours of unpaid overtime | 23,800,000 |
Annual total of unpaid overtime (hours) | 1,238,000,000 |
Weekly average unpaid hours for workers who do unpaid overtime | 6.8 |
Total annual value of unpaid overtime | £28,500,000,000 |
Average annual loss for a worker doing unpaid overtime | £8,100 |
- About the TUC: The Trades Union Congress (TUC) exists to make the working world a better place for everyone. We bring together the 5.3 million working people who make up our 47 member unions. We support unions to grow and thrive, and we stand up for everyone who works for a living.
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