Scrap tax on overtime hours, says Reform UK

Reform UK has proposed scrapping income tax on overtime above a 40-hour week for workers earning under £75,000, a “hard work bonus” the party says would cost about £5bn a year. The plan could boost disposable incomes for affected workers (Reform estimates 3.2m receive overtime pay and gives examples such as a full-time nurse saving >£1,300/year), but would be funded by proposed welfare cuts, prompting scepticism from other parties and fiscal analysts. For markets (UK 100), the measure is unlikely to be an immediate equity catalyst but raises fiscal and political uncertainty: modest consumer spending gains could support domestic-oriented stocks, while questions about funding and larger £-denominated deficits could weigh on sovereign bonds and sterling. Overall market implications are ambiguous given political pushback and unclear savings.