Most of us do it. And many of us do it for free. But Fergal Dowling, head of employment law at Irwin Mitchell, explains that workers are worthy of their hire.
It was recently reported that in excess of five million people in the UK worked overtime without being paid for it. Estimates put the value of this work at £26.9 billion.

These figures relate to employees and neither take account of any overtime worked for less than an hour nor those who work at managerial or director level who have traditionally worked overtime for no reward other than contribution to the success, or otherwise, of a company.

The UK has earned a reputation for long working hours. This is unlikely to change given the current economic climate, as extra hours are likely to be invested in a bid to ensure survival - the employee's and/or an organisation's own.

Employee representatives point out that working an excessive number of hours has a number of contra indications - impact on health, family life and effective performance in the work place. So, how many hours are employees meant to work?

Last year Europe voted to rescind the UK's opt-out from the Working Time Regulations. Were it to be removed, the impact would be to allow employees to work only 48 hours per week, averaged out over 12- week periods.

Core rights which workers could enjoy under the Working Time Regulations are:

· A cap of an average of 48 hours' work per week
· Night workers working an average of eight hours in 24 and receiving free health checks
· Eleven hours' rest per day
· Should the working day be longer than six hours, workers have a break during work
· A day off each week
· Four weeks' paid holiday a year.

The opt-out remains in force, however, until 2012 and employers are expected to keep records relating to workers who have opted out.

Payroll records may be sufficient on this, particularly if workers clock on and off. Employees who agree to work beyond 48 hours must do so in writing and employers must keep an up-to-date list of all who have agreed to do so.

If an employer finds a need for overtime but that it is prohibitive because of the rates of pay, yet still wants to reward workers, it may be possible to offer time off in lieu.

Again, there is a need for this to be agreeable to all parties and the process will need careful management to ensure that workers are not left with a huge credit or bank of time-off by year-end.

It may sound cliché-ridden but, when it comes to potentially contentious issues like overtime, employers and employees may want to heed the maxims 'the labourer is worthy of his/her hire' and 'a fair day's wage for a fair day's work'.

To contact Fergal Dowling click here