Workers losing out on $21k annually in unpaid overtime

A recent survey has found that a number of Australian workers are falling victim to the exploitative nature of unpaid overtime, as 77 per cent claimed that it is having a negative impact on their lives.

According to a new report by Unions NSW, Australian workers perform an hour and a half of unpaid overtime every day, amounting to $21,000 per year for employees.

The survey of 5,000 employees across multiple industries found 86 per cent of workers perform unpaid extra hours as part of their job and 77 per cent said unpaid overtime was having a negative impact on their life for a multitude of reasons.

“With so many unpaid working hours and a soaring cost of living, Australia is no longer the lucky country it once was,” said Unions NSW Secretary Mark Morey.

Respondents reported working nine hours of unpaid overtime each week on average, which amounts to 58 days or 11 weeks a year. For an average worker on a yearly income of $96,660, the financial value of this unpaid work is $21,563 per year, showing the economic value that those overtime hours can garner.

As the cost-of-living crisis continues to soar, Australian workers are constantly having to sacrifice and scramble to survive in tough economic times. The report highlighted that workers not confined to high incomes were also falling victim to unpaid overtime. Staff earning less than $70,000 a year conducted 7.5 hours a week unpaid.

While part-time and casual workers perform less overtime than full-time staff, they still conduct around 6.5 hours a week.

For unpaid overtime to fall under the legal requirements of the Fair Work Act, any additional hours must be reasonable. Unions NSW is calling for a change to require payment for these overtime hours, this would apply to all workers earning less than the high-income threshold, which currently stands at $162,000 per year.

“The huge extent and severity of unpaid overtime reveals how employers have become accustomed to expect it from their staff. Often, workers are required to work through lunch breaks, turn up early and finish late, and put in extra hours on the weekend,” said Morey.

“This is affecting their physical and mental wellbeing, preventing them from spending time with their families and contributing to their communities. Fears of reprisal, missing out on promotion, and threats from employers to give staff a worse roster all prevent workers from leaving on time.”

Unpaid overtime has long been justified as a trade-off for higher salaries, whilst junior employees are often pressured into believing that they need to endure unpaid overtime if they want to climb up the ladder of their new professional occupation.

With many workers nowadays yearning for that optimal work/life balance, having to work overtime during those weekends, which 70 per cent of respondents stated, can completely dismantle that goal of having a life outside of your occupation.

When that’s reinforced by a fear of limited career opportunities (64 per cent) it becomes a negative cycle that can go directly against mental health, wellbeing, and work-life balance initiatives that are being pushed in workplaces across Australia. Unions NSW are adamant that this workplace cycle must change.

“The Fair Work Act’s supposed limitation on overtime is completely failing and needs to be urgently updated to make sure workers are treated fairly and paid properly,” said Morey.