If you check your emails on your daily commute, you are working

COMMUTING should count as work because people now check and send so many emails on their journeys, researchers have said.

Better access to free Wi-fi on trains means people are spending more time working than ever, according to the University of the West of England study.

That has created a “blurring of boundaries” between work and home life that must be addressed, the researchers said, suggesting commuters should be paid for travel time.

The study looked at the email habits of 5,000 rail passengers on the London to Birmingham and London to Aylesbury routes.

Over a 40-week period in 2016-17, Chiltern Railways gradually increased the amount of free Wi-fi available to commuters on these lines.

The research, presented at the Royal Geographical Society yesterday, found that by the end of the 40 weeks commuters had sent significantly more work-related emails.

On the Birmingham to London route, the proportion of commuters connecting to the free Wi-fi rose from 54 per cent when 20MB was offered to 60 per cent when 125MB was offered.

Dr Juliet Jain, of the university, said: “If travel time were to count as work time, there would be many social and economic impacts, as well as implications for the rail industry.

“It may ease commuter pressure on peak hours and allow for more comfort and flexibility around working times.

“However, it may also demand more surveillance and accountability for productivity.”

The researchers suggested the UK should take its lead from Norway, where some commuters are paid for travel time because it counts as part of their working day.

However, it could cause a headache for employers who would need to consider how they would structure pay as well as its security implications.

Siobhan Howard-palmer, associate and employment law expert at HRC Law, said: “If commuting is to be taken into account as working time, the first point of action should be to identify what this time is termed; is this considered overtime? If so then how would this be monitored?

“If employees are to be working during their commute, devices should be equipped with appropriate security installed to comply with GDPR and the employer’s own policies in relation to client data.”