ìGreat in principle, not so easy to put into practice.î Thatís the response of leading recruiter Resourcing Solutions as the TUC marks ìWork Your Proper Hours Dayî today.
The day is geared up to marking when the 1 in 5 employees who do unpaid overtime would get remunerated if they did all their unpaid work at the start of the year. Research finds almost 9 in 10 managers work longer than their contracted hours, while 1 in 5 workers in the UK gives away an average of 5k a year in unpaid time.
Richard Lawrance, managing director at Resourcing Solutions, which specialises in placing candidates in the transport and construction sectors said: ìWe support the TUCís attempt to draw attention to how much unpaid overtime workers are having to put in as they strive to meet important project deadlines. In an ideal world, workers of all levels and across all sectors would only put in their contracted hours. However skills shortages, particularly in the transport and construction sectors are at an all time high. Work towards the 2012 Olympics in London has seen a huge rise in levels of work, but employers are struggling to fill positions in order to meet some unmoveable and much publicised deadlines.î
He added: ìWeíre currently in the midst of a candidate driven market ñ employees have their pick of the jobs and for many, contract work has never been more attractive. Thereís plenty of work, the hourly rates of pay are higher than those of a permanent worker and overtime is often paid. Employers would obviously prefer to recruit permanent staff, but this vicious circle is unlikely to be broken while the ball is in the candidateís court.î
Work Your Proper Hours Day highlights current skills shortage, says Resourcing Solutions
Skills shortage must be addressed if staff are to work their proper hours, says Resourcing Solutions
