Half of the UK’s workers have taken measures to aid their company’s survival in the recession, according to new research from insolvency trade body R3.

The poll found that a third of workers have put in extra hours or overtime without additional pay, while one in 10 workers have deliberately accepted a pay freeze, while the same number had taken unpaid leave and had not received  an expected bonus.

Peter Sargent, president of R3, says: “These people are the unsung heroes of the recession.   
 
“Their personal sacrifices can help businesses survive the recession and, in some cases we’ve seen, they’ve made the difference between survival and collapse.”