Skip to main content
Work with the NEU
Bosses raked in £26bn as average worker did £7,200 of unpaid overtime last year, study finds
TUC urges workers to ‘take their lunch break and finish on time’ this Work Your Proper Hours Day
[Jon Tyson / Creative Commons]

BOSSES have cashed in £26 billion as the average worker put in the equivalent of £7,200 of unpaid overtime last year, TUC research reveals today.

Public bodies benefited the most from the free labour with 3.8 million people doing unpaid overtime in 2023 and teachers topping the chart for working after hours.

On the 20th Work Your Proper Hours Day, TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “We’re encouraging every worker to take their lunch break and finish on time today.  

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
TUC GENERAL SECRETARY: Paul Nowak
Employment Rights Act / 17 July 2026
17 July 2026

TUC general secretary PAUL NOWAK tells Ben Chacko that Labour can win back disillusioned voters by delivering workplace reforms, rebuilding trust and challenging the far right’s growing influence

paul nowak
Retail sector / 24 December 2025
24 December 2025
Members of the National Education Union (NEU) hold an 'A Christmas Carol' themed rally outside Rachel Reeves' office in Leeds, as sixth form college teachers in England continued strike action into January over a pay dispute, December 13, 2024
Workers' Rights / 10 November 2025
10 November 2025