Some 43pc of workers in Europe work for free during their holidays and women are less likely than men to be compensated for the extra work, a new Europe-wide survey by Lastiminute.com reveals.
The survey of 10,200 adults, including 1,000 in Ireland by YouGov on behalf of Lastminute.com, revealed that 75pc of Irish workers admitted to working during their holidays and free time, putting them top of the table and higher than the European average of 58pc.
Some 10pc say their motivation for doing the extra work during their free time is fear of losing their jobs.
Employees in Ireland work an average of 88 minutes per day during their holidays – or almost one full day per week – with 43pc saying they are neither compensated financially or granted time in lieu for the extra work.
Who benefits financially?
Across Europe, men give an average of 32 minutes of extra time while women give 36 minutes of extra work to employers for free on days off – a 12pc difference.
When it comes to being rewarded for this time more Irish men than women receive financial compensation – 24pc of men versus 18pc of Irish women. This is reflected across Europe, where more men than women have benefited financially – 30pc of male employees versus 21pc of female employees. When it comes to compensation through time in lieu, 33pc of women in Ireland versus 31pc of men are rewarded this way.
The biggest male-female divide exists in Sweden, where 43pc of women versus 30pc of men receive no compensation whatsoever- financial or time in lieu.
