Work harder to earn less.

As a kid I was encouraged to work hard to get on in life. My dad wasn't bothered what career I went into, whether it was emptying the bins or something more lowly, like an MP. Actually, he'd have probably disowned me if I had become an MP. The point was though, that hard work earned success, and success lead to a better lifestyle, and higher income.
However, the austerity measures have left me increasingly doubtful of Dads wisdom. Casual overtime used to be paid at time and a half, now it is time and a third. Working on a day off used to be double time, but now it's time and a half. So, work harder and you can still earn more, but less than you could.
So far so good. But today I got my tax code notice. Bad news is always buried in the good, and if something looks too good to be true it usually is. Too bloody true. On the face of it I can now earn an extra £1330 without paying tax. However, the tax bandings have been revised, which takes back a good proportion of that, meaning that I now pay 40% tax on the £530 basic pay that goes over the threshold. Following this so far? Basically I pay no tax on more money, the same amount of tax on just as much money but more tax on less money.
And then there is the question of overtime. If I have understood this correctly any overtime I work now will be taxed at the 40% rate which means that I will be earning £3.50 an hour LESS on overtime than I am on standard time. This wouldn't be so bad if mine was a job where overtime can be avoided, but it isn't. It's often an operational necessity to work overtime.
So, basically the harder I work, the more tax I pay and the less I earn. Meanwhile, some people don't work at all and had their benefits increased last year. Go figure!