Scrap tax on overtime hours, says Reform UK

Scrap tax on overtime hours, says Reform UKJust nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleKate Whannelpolitical reporterGetty ImagesIncome tax on overtime above a 40-hour week should be scrapped for workers earning less than £75,000, Reform UK has said. The party estimates what it is calling a "hard work bonus" would save a full time nurse working six hours of overtime each week more than £1,300 a year. Reform said the policy would cost £5bn a year and could be paid for through its plans to make cuts to welfare payments.But Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems all questioned whether Reform would find the money for the plans.Reform leader Nigel Farage said the overtime proposals would "finally make work pay, drive up productivity and restore the appeal of a strong work culture once again". He said hardworking people "look around and see that work simply doesn't pay, that benefits often match or beat what they earn, and that ordinary families are being dragged into higher tax bands with nothing to show for it".Reform UK says its £75,000 threshold would mean 90% of workers could benefit from its proposed tax cut.It estimates that around 3.2 million workers receive overtime pay. Reform also gave estimates for the amount of tax people working in warehouses and as prison officers could save.The party has previously proposed ending Personal Independence Payments (Pip) for people with anxiety disorders. It has also said it would strip EU citizens of their right to claim benefits.Savings made from these policies would pay for its tax cut for overtime hours, the party has argued. Reform said it would change related EU law, such as Working Time Regulations, to ensure people can "take advantage of this tax break".Last year, the Trade Unions Congress produced analysis which estimated that in 2024 3.8 million people worked an average of 7.2 unpaid hours a week, losing out on earnings of £8,000 per year. The body said those in the teaching a...