Paid overtime has dropped by a quarter since it was at its height in 2007 before the recession, new research has shown.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) conducted analysis of the number of extra hours workers were being paid to do and found the figure had dropped from 54 million to 41 million.
In just four years there has been a 25 per cent decrease, but this does not mean that in offices up and down the country you cannot find workers staying on beyond the hours they are being paid for.
Due to the recession and cuts to resources and staffing levels many workers find there is extra pressure to work longer hours in order to get specific elements of their jobs done.
With the economy the way it is and a lack of jobs available, many see no alternative than to work late and not necessarily make any extra money out of it.
A decrease in paid overtime will hit the household incomes of many in the country as it contributes to the take home pay they receive.
Despite huge unemployment in the north-east, eastern England and Yorkshire and Humberside, workers there seem to benefit from more paid overtime.
This has been accredited to the fact that manufacturing and mining jobs dominate the regions and these are the sectors most likely to offer paid overtime, the research found.
In comparison it is London which has seen the biggest dip in paid overtime from 15.1 hours on average at its peak to 11 hours today.
The dichotomy of the situation means that though existing employees look towards paid overtime in order to help make ends meet, other people who are out of work could be taken on in order to make up the shortfall.
As a banner organisation for a variety of unions, the TUC has 58 unions which are members of it, representing more than six and a half million people in total.
Brendan Barber, general secretary for the TUC, said: “With everyone looking for economic green shoots, a rise in the availability of paid overtime would be a welcome sign for millions of workers.”
