SCOTS employees are being short-changed by thousands of pounds in wages as new research claims they are working eight weeks of overtime for free a year.

The survey found Scotland's professionals have the longest working day across the UK, almost 30 minutes more than the national average, with over two thirds of employees north of the border claiming they put in more hours than they are required to.

The findings come amid warnings a UK exit from the EU could see those working in Scotland face even longer working days as the legal limit of a 48-hour week is removed.

But the Scottish Vote Leave campaign said the findings highlighted existing weaknesses in EU working directives and said an exit would benefit employees through giving the Scottish and UK parliaments control over protections.

According to the report, 16,000 UK workers were surveyed, including around 1000 respondents who reported living and working in Scotland.

Those surveyed were employed in sectors including accounting and finance, admin, construction, customer service, distribution, electronics, engineering, hospitality, IT, legal, management, manufacturing and sales.

It founds that Scots in full-time employment, and who are contracted for just 7.5 hours per day, are working eight hours and 44 minutes every day, while the UK average is just eight hours and 16 minutes. In all, the date concluded that employees in Scotland are working 42.8 days more than their contracted hours every year without being paid overtime.

It said that combined with the average Scottish salary of £31,888-per-year, workers were missing out on £5239 annually.

Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library, said: “In the first quarter of the year wage growth has remained fairly stagnant, and with the introduction of the national living wage and concerns around the EU referendum, we expect wages to decline as we move into Q2 2016. "Many Scottish businesses are facing low productivity as the nation struggles with skills shortages and economic uncertainty; it’s extremely concerning to see that full-time workers are forced to pick up the slack with no reward.

"The government needs to work with businesses to tackle the issues head-on; especially for regions like Scotland where workers are facing worryingly long work days.”

The survey also found that over a quarter of full-time employees in Scotland work over 10 hours per day, far exceeding the 48 hour per week limit currently imposed by EU employment laws, fuelling fears a Brexit could cause a further increase on working hours.

Mr Biggins added: “There are so many questions still unanswered regarding the EU referendum, and for UK workers many of these questions are surrounding the current EU employment laws.

"It’s clear that professionals in Scotland are already working close to, if not more than, they legally should on a full-time contract, and a Brexit could worsen the situation.

"If we leave the EU and the security blanket of a maximum 48 hour week is removed then Scottish workers could face even longer working days."

Earlier this year one of Scotland's foremost leading health and safety lawyers warned a UK exit from the European Union would be a "travesty" for all Scots workers as rights accumulated over decades would come under attack.

Patrick McGuire said workplace laws would reduce to a bare minimum in the event of a Brexit vote in June But Tom Harris, director of the Scotland Vote Leave campaign, said: “The fact that so many workers already feel unprotected by the EU shows how weak EU employment regulations are.

"By Leaving the EU we can take back control of vital important social and employment protections, both in Holyrood and Westminster. We will have Scottish elected representatives working to protect workers, rather than it being left to unelected officials in Brussels who are accountable to no-one."