TUC Report: legal professionals doing an average of eight hours 36 minutes overtime a week or two months’ unpaid work

Lawyers are losing out on nearly £10,000 a year, working for what amounts to two months of unpaid overtime, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has claimed.


Statistics released by the TUC in the run up to its Work Your Proper Hours Day, held last Friday, showed almost half of all legal professionals work unpaid overtime. Those who do average eight hours and 36 minutes’ unpaid work a week – up 30 minutes on the previous year.


Barristers, solicitors and judges still fared better than many top managers and senior civil servants, who topped the TUC’s overtime league table by putting in an extra 12 hours a week and missing out on an estimated £24,000 a year.


The figures showed the situation improved slightly for legal support staff, who worked six hours of unofficial overtime a week – down by 48 minutes.


Full-time staff in the UK work the longest hours across the EU and do the most unpaid overtime. Last year, nearly five million employees worked on average more than a day’s unpaid overtime a week (7.4 hours), which saved their employers £23 billion, the TUC calculated.


However, the government’s labour force survey also showed that while the majority of lawyers were keen to cut their hours, only 8% of the 244 who participated would be prepared to give up pay to do so – the smallest percentage of any professional group.


Work Your Proper Hours Day was set up by the TUC to encourage employees to stick to their set hours for one day, take a proper lunch break and go home on time.


TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: ‘No one says we should turn into a nation of clock-watchers, or never put in extra time when there’s a crisis or sudden rush.’


But he said people should think seriously about their work-life balance and look at how they can reorganise their workplace to work smarter without staying late.


A spokeswoman for personal injury and trade union law firm Thompsons said: ‘One reason lawyers work long hours is because they are committed to their clients.’


The national firm is the only law firm that recognises a trade union; its staff are members of the GMB.


The spokeswoman added: ‘We work closely with the TUC and fully support its initiative. We work hard to ensure good practice and all our staff and managers were made aware of Work Your Proper Hours Day.’


But she added: ‘In City firms you often do see some poor workplace and employment practices where staff work all hours to get work done.’