Unpaid overtime 'worth £5,400'

MORE than five million workers "gave away" £27.4 billion in unpaid overtime last year, averaging a record £5,400 per person, a study revealed today.

Workers affected put in seven hours 12 minutes extra every week, worth 5,402 a year, the highest since records began in the late 1990s, said the TUC.

General secretary Brendan Barber said: "The recession has forced many employees to do less hours in an effort to save jobs, and this has also had an effect on the amount of unpaid overtime worked.

"This long hours culture causes stress and damages health."