Paid overtime a 'victim of the recession'

The number of people working paid overtime in the UK had fallen by close to half a million this summer compared to the previous year, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has said.

In an analysis of figures from the Office for National Statistics' Labour Force Survey, the TUC found that the number of people earning overtime pay fell from 4,425,000 in July-to-September 2008, to 3,942,000 in the same period this year.

Of the 15.8% of UK workers who are paid for working overtime, the average employee puts in an extra six and a half hours per week. This is only 12 minutes less than in 2008, the TUC says, but represents a drop in total overtime earnings of £1 billion for these "hidden victims of the recession".

The manufacturing sector, which has traditionally relied heavily on paid overtime, saw the sharpest fall in numbers, employing 300,000 fewer people to work additional hours.
Meanwhile, energy and water was the only sector to register an increase in the number of people working paid overtime, rising from 71,000 in 2008 to 124,000 this year.

While the amount of people earning overtime pay has slowly decreased since records began in 1998, the TUC said that the recent decline has been accelerated by the recession, and is "a reflection of the sacrifices that employees, unions and employers have made in order to prevent further job losses".

"Job security remains the number one concern for workers across the country but the sharp drop in paid overtime shows that many people in work are also suffering financially," TUC general secretary Brendan Barber added.

"Even those that are still earning overtime are often no longer able to claim double pay."