The number of public sector staff doing unpaid overtime has increased over the last decade, with one in four doing more than their contracted hours, new figures show.
Analysis of official figures by the TUC shows that more than a quarter (27.4%) of public sector staff did unpaid overtime last year, compared to 24.8% in 20003. The average amount of unpaid overtime is 7 hours 42 minutes a week.
The amount of unpaid overtime in the private sector has remained steady over the last decade at 18.1%.
The analysis also shows that more than a quarter of a million extra women are doing unpaid overtime since 2003, up from 24.3% in 2003 to 28.2%.
TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, said: ‘Times are tough for public sector workers. As the cuts bite and fewer staff find themselves having to take on more work, unpaid overtime inevitably grows.
‘Some of the increase will be down to the professionalism and commitment of staff who want to provide decent services. But there is also evidence of bullying and excessive management pressure in some workplaces.
‘It is not surprising that morale is so low across the public sector. Hours are up, workload has increased, pay has been frozen, pensions cut and jobs insecure as public sector staff know that 60% of the cuts are still to come.’
The research has been published ahead of Work Your Proper Hours Day, which is on 28 February. This is the day all those who do unpaid overtime would start to get paid if they did all their unpaid work at the start of the year.