90% of architecture employees work overtime, two-thirds not compensated – RIBA

90% of practice employees worked overtime regularly, according to a survey from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

Research showed that two thirds of architects worked unpaid overtime with no extra pay or compensation.

The survey also found that unpaid overtime was common in the sector, but young people and early-career staff on lower wages were hit hardest. 

Many were not paid the real living wage and needed other income sources to make ends meet. 

Findings also revealed that staff with caring responsibilities, often women, struggled to balance work and home life and more than half (54%) said work was harming their mental health.

Muyiwa Oki, president of RIBA, said: “I’m hugely concerned about what this research has unearthed.  

“Architecture is such a brilliant, fulfilling career and my experiences have been nothing but positive, so the fact that so many in the profession I love are overworked, underpaid and unsupported is hard to hear, although I do appreciate that the last few years have been challenging for practices and that many have had to cope with rising costs, including salaries, while their profits have stayed the same.

“I’m determined that RIBA should play a major role in helping turn things around so we will be working hard to ensure, first, that our code of practice is sufficiently robust and clear on the correct, mandatory standards of employment that all staff working in architecture have a right to expect.”