Fresh evidence of the UK’s long hours culture has emerged with research showing almost two-thirds of workers regularly do not take a lunch break.

A survey of 1,800 people by online recruitment staffbay.com found that one in five never took a break during the day and a similar number could not remember the last time they did not eat lunch at their desk.

More than half of those questioned said they rarely left work on time, with men most likely to put in extra hours. Tony Wilmot, founder of staffbay.com, said: “Lunch breaks are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. With public and private sector organisations making cutbacks, pressure on employees is increasing.

“Therefore workers feel the need to work longer hours and ‘dine al desko’ in order to show employers their worth.”