The two-thirds said that are not satisfied with their current income and think should earn more for the duties the role involves, according to online lottery website Lottoland, while 21 per cent said they’ve already had interviews for higher-paying positions.

By comparison, just 24 per cent said they’re happy with the salary earned, while a fortunate 12 per cent admitted they believe they’re overpaid by employers.

The news comes amid the ongoing Living Wage debate, which is leaving some companies red-faced by the expected increase to staff. Lidl promised to abide by the payment campaign at no extra cost to customers, while Costa is set to increase prices to compensate for additional outgoings to employees.

According to the study, the top five reasons people feel underpaid are:

1. I haven’t had a pay rise or review for a long time – 28 per cent

2. I get paid less than co-workers who have the same job role as me – 19 per cent

3. I work a lot of unpaid overtime within my current role without being credited – 16 per cent

4. I know that I could get paid more for the same job elsewhere/in a different company –13 per cent

5. I struggle to make ends meet and pay my monthly bills – 9 per cent

Read more on salaries:

• The British cities with the richest and poorest workers in the country
• Stay exactly where you are – advertised salaries are in “spectacular” decline
• 5.5m UK employees prepared to exaggerate salary by £4,000

However, 71 per cent of the underpaid confessed they hadn’t broached the subject of a pay rise to their boss. Some 62 per cent said this was because they were worried about being labelled rude or ungrateful, while 22 per cent said previous enquiries had been snubbed.

“It is important that an individual feels happy and secure within their job role and, as part of this, the issue of wages and salary is bound to rear its head, particularly if employees feel underpaid for the hard work that they carry out for the company they work for,” said Dan Hawkins, spokesperson for www.lottoland.co.uk.

“If employees don’t feel like a valued member of staff or that they are as respected as co-workers, then it is inevitable they will begin to look elsewhere for a more highly paid job role.”

By Zen Terrelonge

Image: Shutterstock