£28 billion in unpaid overtime!

Posted on 23rd March 2026

New analysis published by the TUC 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.

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.

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".

For more information visit tuc.org.uk.