New data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that workers in the UK are working more hours per week than workers in most other European countries. On average, the time worked weekly by UK workers is 42.7 hours, this compares to the significantly lower EU average of 37.4 hours per week.
The data showed that there were only two EU countries, Greece and Austria, in which workers worked longer hours than those in the UK.
Nigel Meager, Director of the Institute for Employment Studies, said that this partly reflected the fact that many workers are engaged in part-time employment. Moreover, Meager pointed out that the UK is not part of the EU Working Time Regulations.
"Full-time workers in the UK do indeed have slightly longer working hours than the EU average. However, previous evidence has shown that this reflects a culture of systematic overtime in lower skilled manual and driving jobs – partly driven by low hourly pay rates: people need the overtime to achieve a decent wage – as well as the UK's opt-out from the EU Working Time Regulations."
The ONS also found that many UK workers do not get paid for their additional hours. The General Secretary of TUC, Brendan Barber, said, "These figures shine a light on the valuable but too often unrewarded extra hours that UK workers put in every week. Employers should do more to recognise the unpaid overtime their staff do, which contributes £29bn to the UK economy every year."
Meager said that many UK workers worked overtime as such commitment was often taken for granted. "The ONS data on managerial and professional workers being more likely to work 'unpaid' overtime than lower skilled workers is unsurprising because many such occupations, despite a formal 'working week', also have a cultural expectation that people will work longer hours on occasion as required, and it is common for both salary levels and career prospects to reflect this."
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