Commuters lose an annual 200 hours getting to work

The average British employee spends 200 hours commuting to and from work, according to a TUC analysis of figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

This lost travel time equates to an extra five weeks over the course of a year.

People who work in London were found to have the longest commute with a daily average of about 38 minutes spent on trains, buses and the tube. Workers in Northern Ireland were found to have the shortest commute at just 22.4 minutes a day.

However, the research also revealed that employees with the longest commutes tend to have a bigger salary. London commuters who travel more than an hour to get to  work have an average hourly wage of £18.80 where as those with shorter commutes earn £9.60 an hour.

In addition the figures highlighted a disparity between the commuting times for men and women with male workers travelling 26% more than females. This equates to a 45 hour gap over the year.

Brendan Barber, TUC general secretary, said: “Unnecessary long commutes are frustrating and expensive for staff, and bad for business too. Smarter working must be part of the modern economy. Staff want greater access to flexible and high quality home-working and employers need to do more to provide it.”

He added: “The link between long commutes and better pay is a concern as it can discriminate against women, who still bear the greatest share of childcare responsibilities, and do more than their fair share of work in the home. Eliminating the need for long commutes can also broaden access to a wider range of jobs for those unable to travel from home.”

The ONS report also outlined that outside of the capital nine out of ten workers get to work without using public transport.

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