How much unpaid overtime is reasonable in a £50k role?

[Strumpetpumpet]

I’m 6 months into a new job, which was a bit of a promotion for me. I enjoy it on the whole but am finding there’s too much work to fit into a standard working week. My 2 colleagues who are the same level as me, seem to work lots of evenings and weekends to get everything done. I’m 55, menopausal, don’t sleep well and am always tired, and I just don’t want to have to work tons of additional hours just to keep up. Am I just out of touch and should I expect to be working late nights and weekends at this level?

As in...millions of workers would be forced to quit their jobs if our service ceased to exist.

My husband earns about that for a supposed 35 hour week. In reality it's always 45 hours and sometimes 50 hours - he is permanently stressed.

I earn 50k. I work around 20 hours unpaid overtime a week

2-3 hrs per 8 hr shift

Not reasonable, but is what I do!

70k. I don’t do any unpaid overtime and regularly exceed the targets set of me. I do often wonder what some of my colleagues are doing.

I think staffing and recruitment in many sectors is in crisis meaning that people have to work extra to stop things falling over completely. Some of us care (perhaps too much) to see things fail or to let those who rely on us down. It is not always a case of employers not being aware or taking advantage, although I am sure some do. Getting the right staff is a difficult and often long process so what can we do in the meantime except work to bridge the gap.

60k and zero overtime here. If something happens that requires me to work late one evening, I just take the time back later in the week. Full time, 35 hours, full flexitime perks

@Nothinglefttogiv
I'm a teacher too (we all know that's the essential service you mean).
I do about 30ish unpaid each week.
Unfortunately we are not the people OP wants to hear from because although they think our overtime is outrageous on a thread linked this. Once they realise we are teachers then they tell us all about our holidays and pensions and can't believe we would dare strike.

None.
Fine if there's a crisis, or an issue, or occasional. If you are doing it all the time, or regularly, then the role is under resourced.

Why haven't you spoken to your manager about this?

I earn £60k and no overtime. If I am needed for something specific out of hours, I get paid 1.5x salary.

You work more than a full day extra every week without getting paid?! That’s ridiculous. What industry are you in?

I earn £52k and do absolutely no overtime and never have done.

In my last job I worked 4 days per week and did around 8-10 hours of overtime, and now I kick myself for being such a mug. It wasn't worth it!

@FancyCurtains I work for a charity. The overtime is an investment in my future career. I'm currently interviewing for a job that pays nearly 3 times my current salary because the overtime means that I have built a reputation as an expert in my field and delivered a significant output.

No overtime. No interest in working for free.

I'd work extra if the shit was hitting the fan, but I'd be TOILing it as soon as possible.

Earn 30k working 30 hrs a week in an industry where overtime is common, but I would never do it on principle.

DH earns 70k and does overtime maybe once or twice a month to meet project deadlines, but it's not excessive and his working hours are super flexible.

I think if people do it then it becomes an expectation and we should all value our time enough to only work the hours we are contracted to, and be paid for overtime when it's required.

It's very wrong that teachers are being for almost half the time they actually work.

There are other professions that won't step down too, district nurses and carers are two that come to mind immediately because the people with plenty of money in their pockets and no overtime know that the moral compass of people like you means you wouldn't let those who need you down, no matter the personal cost to yourselves until you break. So they keep u derstaffing and under paying you for the work you put in.

I'm utterly grateful that the district nurses who cared for my dad went over and above their hours in the last days of his life (a bank holiday weekend) but it's awful that they weren't fairly renumerated, or even recognised for doing so.

In that instance you might as well work full time. It is not uncommon though often when people go PT they are really doing the job of a FT person is less hours and for a lot less pay.

Junior doctor on £52k for 45 contracted hours per week (I’m on better pay as lots of nights/weekends). Common to stay late at work. Also lots of unpaid work from home for compulsory assessments and e learning or quality improvement projects we don’t have time to do at work.

This thread is making me realise what a mug I am as a junior doctor doing all these many many extra hours. Strike hard.

None whatsoever. Just don't.

I've found if you start putting in extra hours people assume you're happy to do so and then expect it to continue. DH used to be like that, then he got sick of work, stopped striving for perfection and stopped any overtime - and won an award, first in 20 years!

47.5K and no overtime usually. I did a little over time before I went on Mat leave as I wanted to get artworks out to client's but that was a once off.

Sadly, yes if no one is listening and the service is in crisis. Expectations will continue to grow every time you 'deliver' (even if it was only managed by pushing everyone to the brink), so failure is inevitable anyway in the end. Better it happens sooner before the staff are fully broken too as well as the client/patient/pupil. At least that way there are people left to rebuild.

30k and about 16-18hrs a week