Workers in the South West gave their employers £2.4 billion of free labour in 2017 by doing unpaid overtime, according to new analysis of official statistics published today by the TUC.

Today is the TUC’s 14th annual Work Your Proper Hours Day. Prior to this day, the average person doing unpaid overtime has effectively worked the year so far for free.

The union organisation says 426,882 people in the South West put in an average of 7.3 hours a week in unpaid overtime during 2017. This averages £5,603 a year that each of those workers is losing out in pay.

To mark the day, the TUC is asking workers to take a proper lunch break and leave on time.

Workers can check how much more they’d get each year if their overtime was paid at their usual rate at http://act.goingtowork.org.uk/page/content/unpaid-overtime.