Over 5m put in unpaid overtime in 2008

More than five million people worked unpaid overtime last year, putting in hours that would have netted them £26.9 billion if they had been remunerated, according to figures from the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

Its statistics show that a total of 5.24 million people put in extra hours for free during 2008, clocking up an average of seven hours and six minutes a week.

The organisation said this is the highest figure for unpaid overtime since records began in 1992, beating 2001's record of five million.

London was the area with the biggest increase in people exceeding the hours on their timesheet, with 79,000 workers putting in extra work during 2008.

The south-east and Scotland saw the biggest declines in unpaid overtime, with falls of 26,000 and 11,000 employees respectively.

Brendan Barber, the TUC's general secretary, said the economic downturn was one of the main factors behind the overall rise in unpaid overtime.

"Inevitably people will be putting in extra hours if they think it can help protect against redundancy or keep their employer in business," he said.

The TUC's member unions represent around 6.5 million employees in the UK.

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