Overtime increased in 33% of organisations in Australia over the past 12 months, with 59% of non-award staff unpaid for their extra hours, according to Hays.

Only 13% of organisations decreased overtime over the past 12 months.

“Last year, tight budgets forced employers to try to achieve more with less as they navigated their way through the crisis and back to growth,” said Nick Deligiannis, managing director of Hays in Australia and New Zealand. “But rising overtime is not a sustainable solution, especially when we know that further pressure will be placed on workforces in the year ahead.”

Of those organisations that increased overtime:

• 20% kept the average weekly additional hours to less than 5%
• 38% increased overtime by between 5% and 10%
• 33% increased it by 10% to 20%
• 9% saw overtime rise by more than 21% of the standard weekly hours worked

A factor behind the rising overtime rates is the skills shortage.

“Almost two-thirds of employers say skills shortages will impact the effective operation of their organisation or department in the next 12 months,” Deligiannis said.

Hays’ report is based on a survey of nearly 3,500 organisations and more than 3,800 skilled professionals.