Lawyers are among the most likely workers to do ‘extreme’ unpaid overtime, figures have revealed.

Research by the Trades Union Congress found that 18% of legal professionals did more than 10 hours of unpaid overtime a week.

The study found that 22,717 legal professionals were working an average of 16 hours a week for no extra pay.

The TUC noted that while teachers worked a higher number of unpaid hours than solicitors, lawyers did not receive the same ‘lavish holiday arrangements’ to compensate. Corporate managers also performed high levels of overtime.

The research found that nearly half of all legal professionals worked unpaid overtime, with 18% working ‘extreme’ unpaid hours.

A TUC spokesman said: ‘Lawyers will not be surprised by the fact that they work more unpaid hours than virtually every other profession.

‘It’s concerning that more than one in six are putting in an average of 16 hours of free work every week, on top of the hours they already do.

‘This long-hours culture can lead to stress and poor health, as well as less time to spend away from the office with friends and family.’

The research was based on the Office of National Statistics’ Labour Force survey of 40,000 people. It found that the number of people working more than 10 hours of unpaid overtime per week increased by 14,000 to nearly 900,000 last year.