'Time theft' now widespread among Aussies

Workers in Australia render six hours of overtime work each week – all without pay, according to a survey by the Australia Institute. This so-called ‘time theft’ amounts to $106bn in free labour each year.

While 40% of the labour force would like to take on more paid hours, unpaid overtime work has been increasing over the years: from 4.6 hours per week in 2016, to 5.1 hours in 2017, to six hours in 2018, the study found.

In an “era of wage stagnation, underemployment, insecure work, and significant cost of living pressures,” each worker is giving away an equivalent of 312 hours per year without proper remuneration, according to the researchers.

“This widespread non-payment for so much of Australians’ working time reduces family incomes, weakens consumer spending, and exacerbates the challenge of work-life balance,” the Institute said.

The rate of unpaid overtime work also varies by worker type:

• Self-employed workers lose 8.39 hours per week.
• Full-time workers – 7.07 hours per week
• Part-time workers – 4.15 hours per week
• Other casual workers – 2.83 hours per week

“Time theft takes many forms, including employees staying late, coming in early, working through their lunch or other breaks, taking work home on evenings and weekends, or being contacted to perform work out of hours,” said Troy Henderson of the Centre of Future Work in a report by The Guardian.

“Today we ask that all Australians go home on time and try to limit the unpaid overtime they work.”