Workers in UK did £31 billion in unpaid labour by not taking lunch breaks last year

Brits have been urged to take their lunch breaks.

New research, published by the Trades Union Congress, indicated that 3.8 million people worked unpaid overtime in 2024, putting in an average of 7.2 unpaid hours a week - equivalent to an average to £8,000 a year of lost wages.

London had the highest proportion of workers doing unpaid overtime, at 17%, compared to 13% nationally, while occupations with most unpaid overtime were teaching and health and care managers.

The TUC said government plans to recruit 6,500 additional teachers will help to improve levels of work intensity, but added that more engagement was needed on workforce issues across the public sector.

Women and men are similarly likely to work unpaid overtime, with 13.2% of women working unpaid overtime compared to 13.1% of men. Women who do unpaid overtime do 6.8 hours a week compared to 7.5 hours a week for men. 

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.

"This analysis shows once again the staffing pressures in our public services that have been driven by 14 years of Tory mismanagement."

He added: "It is really important the new government engages with its workforce on issues like workloads to stop staff leaving our schools and hospitals.

"Staffing pressures in our public services have been driven by 14 years of Tory mismanagement.

"We are encouraging every worker to take their lunch break and finish on time today, and we know that good employers will support them doing that."

The TUC urged people to work their proper hours and take breaks and encouraged managers to set reasonable workloads.

The union organisation dubbed Friday 'Work Your Proper Hours Day' to highlight the cost to workers of doing so much unpaid overtime.