Perhaps this is slightly off topic, but it seems to me that the 45 hour week is what employers really mean by a 40 hour week. For example, a very recent advert

Perhaps this is slightly off topic, but it seems to me that the 45 hour week is what employers really mean by a 40 hour week. For example, a very recent advertisement for a position at Gold Mansacks stated the job was full time, 40 hours per week, from 9AM to 6PM. One can argue about lunch time, and whether the 40 hours are to occur somewhere within the hours of 9AM to 6PM. (Something tells me that 10AM to 6PM won't cut it.) In my experience, the mandatory lunch isn't mandatory, and the employer is getting closer to 45 hours than 40. At least to me, there is a significant difference between working 35 hours/week and 40 hours/week,especially if those 40 hours involve another 5 hours for "lunch."