UK workers fork out nearly £300 per month to cover company expenses

Study also shows a third have gone into overdraft and incurred credit card charges because of paying costs from their own personal bank account

36% confess to worrying about not having enough money to make it to the end of the month when waiting for expenses to go through

Almost half also annoyed that their employer expects them to spend their own money on company expenses

Workers across the UK are prepared to put nearly £300 a month of company expenses onto their personal credit card, according to new research released today which surveyed 1,000 workers who claim expenses across the UK.

This is in addition to one in three (32%) admitting they have overdrawn at the bank, or incurred credit card charges, because they have had to pay for company costs from their own personal bank account.

As well as being costly, handling expenses on behalf of the company can be very stressful for UK employees, with 36% confessing to worrying about not having enough money to make it to the end of the month when waiting for expenses to go through.

Almost a third also admitted that whilst away on a work trip they have been put in the embarrassing position of worrying that they didn’t have enough money in their personal account to cover a bill they’ve had to fork out for. Almost half (47%) of those surveyed are also annoyed by the fact that their employer expects them to spend their own money on company expenses.

According to the survey, individuals in the UK typically spend out £126.40 a month to cover work related expenses but will often under claim by an average of £9.22, with lost receipts (42%) cited as the most common cause. Although £9.22 may seem a small price to pay, over the period of a working life, individuals could end up losing out on over £4,000.

And it’s not just individuals who suffer. The cost to business across the UK equates to over £1bn each year, as individuals spend an average of 31 minutes of their working day filling out tricky expense forms which, over a working lifetime, equates to over 31 working days.