Do you commute? You could be losing a quarter of your salary

RESEARCH indicates that across the UK workers are losing thousands of pounds of their wages to time-consuming work journeys.
Commuters buying their ticketsCommuters buying their tickets
Commuters buying their tickets

Workers from the North West lose on average the largest proportion of their annual salary – almost a quarter (23.5%) – to a commute which is the lengthiest in the UK in terms of time – on average taking 53 minutes each way.

However, even workers in areas with comparably short journey times are losing thousands. In the West Midlands, workers facing a 35 minute average journey to and from work face losing £4,024 over the year as a result.

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Moreover, Welsh workers, whose average commute is relatively short at under 27 minutes, still stand to lose an average of just £3,000 p/a.

The research was carried out as part of a Randstad partnership with Williams Martini Racing team, which compared the speed of travel of F1 drivers Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas to the speed at which UK commuters get to work.

In total, F1 drivers travel an average of 3,791 miles for work over a season, over which time they will complete twenty Grand Prix in locations ranging from Australia to Abu Dhabi. The average Leeds commuter would cover 920 miles over the equivalent twenty day period.

And while F1 drivers can reach top speeds of 230 miles per hour on the race track, the average Leeds commuter travels at just 35 miles per hour.

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Vicky Short, managing director of Randstad Care, comments: “Time is money: the longer a worker’s commute takes, the more money they lose.

“While it’s not possible for everyone to cut their commuting time by reducing the distance to their place of work, there are actions everyone can take to make commuting more efficient. On an individual level, creative journey planning can help cut travel time, and potentially make for a more comfortable commute by avoiding the rush hour crush.

“On a governmental level, creaking transport networks mean crowded and slow commutes, so regular infrastructure improvements are key.”