7 in 10 workers waste 3 hours of company time a week booking summer holidays

- 71% of workers have admitted to using the internet at work to search for, or book a holiday/short break during company time. (2007- 42%)

- Employees are spending on average 3 hours a week of company time researching and booking summer holidays.

- 78% of those polled who use the internet at work feel they are not doing anything wrong by doing so. (2007-63%)

- 62% of workers feel safe using their credit card to book a holiday using company internet facilities (2007-48%)

- 81% of employers have now introduced disciplinary procedures for misuse of the internet whilst at work (2007- 48%)

Workers are wasting on average 3 hours of company time a week surfing the internet to get the best deals on summer holidays according to Peninsula the employment law firm. The research released today revealed that 7 in 10 workers have admitted to booking their holidays or short breaks whilst at work, using company internet, systems and in work time.

Deb Gibbons, Head of Employee Relations for Peninsula today said, ìStaff are being paid to work not to look for a holiday to the Costa Del Sol. If workers have nothing better to do than book a summer holiday during work time then employers may want to review their workload.î

ìItís very easy for employers to block popular social networking sites such as Facebook and My Space but employers tend to forget that their employees spend a lot of time shopping online during work time. Itís very difficult to gauge what sites to allow and which websites to ban. Employers need to look at their internet policies and procedures, tightening them and making them stricter. Workers using company equipment and time are costing employers money. Employers need to consider whether to introduce an outright ban or to restrict the use of the internet during work hours. However, it can prove costly to implement such procedures, so an element of trust may be the best option.î

Ms Gibbons continues; ìItís so easy for us all to access the internet whilst at work and we can easily be distracted by the temptation of no frill airlines offering us ìnext to nothingî prices for flights which will enable us to get away for the weekend. We find ourselves looking at one website, which then leads us to check out another website. Time builds up and the next thing we know we have been surfing the internet for an hour, only distracted by a telephone call from our boss asking us what we have been doing.î

Deb Gibbons concludes; ìWorkers are encouraged to only access the internet during breaks and lunches, come in early, or stay later if checking flight prices is a priority. Remember your employer is paying you to carry out a job. Itís not fair to both your employer and your fellow colleagues if you have spent an hour booking a romantic trip for you and your partner when you should have been working.î