The TUC has published its analysis of the Government’s Labour
Force Survey in the run-up to Work Your Proper Hours Day on Friday
24th February.
This is the day that those who do unpaid overtime would start,
on average, to get paid if they did all their unpaid work at the
start of the year. The TUC is urging staff to work their proper
hours and take a full lunch break on that day, and for employers to
thank their staff for their hard work by taking them for lunch, a
cocktail or coffee.
The TUC has campaigned for a “Work Your Proper Hours Day”
before. It claims that UK employees worked unpaid overtime worth
£23 billion in 2005, amounting on average to one day’s unpaid
overtime a week per employee.
The TUC is using the campaign as a light-hearted way to raise
the problem of a long-hours culture in the UK. It hopes that
eventually “Work Your Proper Hours Day” will be celebrated earlier
each year, indicating that people are working smarter, not longer.
Last year it was Friday, 25th February.
A campaign website has been set up, where employees can send
their boss an anonymous ‘bossagram’, work out how much their unpaid
overtime is worth, play an interactive game or take an unpaid
overtime quiz to find out what kind of long hours worker they
are.
“Most people enjoy their jobs most of the time, but nearly half
would like to work fewer hours. Worryingly, more than two million
are so desperate to downshift that they would give up pay in return
for a better work-life balance,” said TUC General Secretary Brendan
Barber.
“But all our long hours are not making us more productive,” he
added. “Too many workplaces are gripped by a long hours culture,
which staff and managers could easily work together to tackle.”
Employment law specialist Robyn McIlroy says the results of the
survey are no surprise.
"It is increasingly uncommon for white-collar professional
workers to have a right to be paid overtime, and the fact is that
employers are much more likely to restrict employees' working hours
if there is a legal compunction to do so or it costs in lucrative
overtime," she said.
McIlroy, a Senior Associate with Pinsent Masons, the law firm
behind OUT-LAW.COM, explained that the Working Time Regulations of
1998 presently prohibit working more that an average of 48 hours
per week unless the employee opts out of the Regulations. "It's
increasingly common for white-collar workers to be asked to sign an
opt-out," she said.
"Presently, only employees with child care responsibilities have
the statutory right to ask for a flexible working arrangement," she
continued. "However, many organisations are tuned into the mood of
workers and the increasing desire for flexible working
arrangements. Many employers are prepared to consider such requests
even from those employees who have no statutory right to flexible
working."
But McIlroy warns that the reality of a shorter week is
sometimes less attractive. "Dreaming of a three-day week is one
thing – but a pro rata deduction in pay and other benefits
is quite another," she said.
