Long hours of work continue

Even so, there remain significant problems related to working time in the UK. According to the Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS 2011), 11% of employees still work more than 48 hours per week, while a further 35% work 40 to 48 hours. The TUC fears there is a real risk that “dangerous long hours” will increase when the economy starts to revive. And general union Unite says drivers are still working as many hours now as they were before 2005 when the Road Transport Working Time Regulations were introduced.

The TUC has also calculated that at least two million workers are not getting their minimum holiday rights, and its helpline continues to hear from workers forced to work long hours, or given opt-out forms with their letters of appointment. The WERS 2011 survey found that opt-outs are linked to long-hours working (see chapter 6). And continuing problems of unpaid overtime, especially among managers, professionals and older workers, have been revealed by the TUC’s Work Your Proper Hours Day campaign.