IT workers do a month's unpaid overtime every year

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 27 Feb 2009 at 15:53

One in three IT workers are racking up more than a month's worth of unpaid overtime every year, according to a new survey.

The TUC survey shows that 33.8% of IT workers were required to do unpaid overtime last Autumn, up 1.5% on 2007. Those who do unpaid work are typically "giving away" five hours and 48 minutes a week.

The results are part of the TUC's Work Your Proper Hours Day, a day on which the union normally asks employers to ensure their staff are working only regulation hours.

This year, however, with most people just grateful to still be in gainful employment, the TUC has toned down the hectoring, and is instead "applauding the spirit and dedication of employees who are helping to keep businesses afloat".

That said, the TUC argues that employees shouldn't feel compelled to work unpaid overtime to save their jobs. "It would be wrong to replace a 'last person to leave gets a better chance of promotion' attitude with a 'last person to leave is least likely to be made redundant' view," says TUC general secretary, Brendan Barber.

The good news is IT workers are not exploited as much as colleagues in other industries, with the average unpaid overtime hitting seven hours and six minutes per week.

Nevertheless, it is something of a double-whammy for IT professionals in the North, who are not only putting in unpaid hours, but have also seen their average salary decrease by 1.7% in the past year, according to a recent survey for e-Skills UK.