People are working longer hours

The average employee is now working a 41-hour week for an annual wage of 27,150, a survey of 2,000 adults by finance giant Santander showed.

About one-in-seven of those polled said they were doing at least 11 hours of overtime every week, but only two out of five were paid any extra.

The study also revealed a huge gender pay gap of 31 per cent, with the average hourly rate for men said to be 13.75, compared with 10.47 for women.

Women would have to work 55 hours a week to earn the 30,360 paid to average male employees, said the report.