One in ten construction workers are giving away an average of 40 days unpaid overtime a year, according to a Trades Union Congress (TUC) analysis of official statistics published today.

The TUC analysis suggests that the collapse of mortgage availability and the subsequent fall in house prices have led to fewer construction workers putting in unpaid overtime. Data from Autumn 2008 shows that 11.7% of workers are now doing unpaid overtime, down by 3.9 percentage points on the previous year.

Construction workers who are doing unpaid hours are giving away the equivalent of 40 days free work per year, the same as last year, which amounts to seven hours of free work per week.

Across the workforce the proportion of employees doing unpaid overtime has been stable since last year, with around five million workers giving away 41 days of free overtime a year, equivalent to seven hours six minutes of unpaid overtime a week.

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Today is the TUC's Work Your Proper Hours Day when the average person who does unpaid overtime would start to get paid if they did all their unpaid overtime at the start of the year.

In previous years the TUC has made a light-hearted call for employees to work their proper hours for just one day to remind bosses of the extra effort they are putting in. But at a time when many employees are putting in extra unpaid hours to help their employers through the recession, and save their jobs, the TUC is instead applauding the spirit and dedication of the workers who are helping to keep their businesses afloat.

But great care is still needed, says the TUC. Excessive long hours working still needs to be addressed in UK workplaces, especially in a downturn, as it can lead to stress and burn out, which lowers productivity and doesn't benefit businesses or staff.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "The recession is bringing new pressure for people to work unpaid overtime. While fewer construction workers are doing unpaid overtime than last year, they are still doing more than most other workers.

"But not all unpaid overtime is useful work helping to overcome the recession. When people understandably fear for their jobs employers still have a responsibility to organise work properly and ensure their workplaces don't get gripped by a long hours culture.

"It would be wrong to replace a last person to leave gets a better chance of promotion attitude with a last person to leave is least likely to be made redundant view. Employers should think about the harm that long hours week in week out does to the firm and staff - its greatest asset."

(CD/JM)