TUC's Work Your Proper Hours Day is on 1 March 2013
If staff who regularly work unpaid overtime did all their extra hours from the start of the year they wouldn't get paid until 1 March 2013. The TUC has named this day Work Your Proper Hours Day to celebrate their hard work.
Now in its ninth year, Work Your Proper Hours Day is a light-hearted campaign that celebrates the unsung - and unrewarded - hours that staff put in to help their employer and boost the UK economy.
On this Friday the TUC will be urging bosses to let their staff take a proper lunch hour and leave work on time, and to lead by example by working their proper hours too.
Last year, the TUC found that employees across the UK worked nearly two billion unpaid hours, worth over £29bn to the economy.
This year Work Your Proper Hours Day will look at whether the amount of unpaid hours worked has risen or fallen in recent years, as well as which jobs and regions of the UK do the most unpaid overtime.
The UK has the longest working hours in Europe and less holidays than most countries within it.
But it’s not just about pay.
Major health risks as a result of skipping lunch breaks, eating irregularly, lack of exercise, and endless working hours; are well documented:
Cardiovascular disease and hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Stress related illnesses
- Obesity due to a reduction in exercise
- Stomach and digestive system illnesses e.g. ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome
- Vision problems e.g. eyestrain leading to headaches, blurred vision
- DVT as a result of static positions for long hours
- Work related upper limb disorders
- Fatigue and exhaustion
- Increased incidents of accidents at work and subsequent injuries.
- Accidents and injuries
- Damaged home life
Tell your employer you have had enough by starting to work your normal hours!
Doing so on 1st March will be a good start.
Source: TUC / ILO / TUC Worksmart
