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A third of employees have admitted to shopping online whilst they should be working, according to research from Give as you Live, the only price comparison website that donates to charity.

Of those Brits who admitted to shopping at work, an average of 24 minutes is lost every working day to browsing online shopping sites, costing businesses 96 hours every year in lost time.

Workers in Leicester spend the most time shopping online at work (45 minutes and 44 seconds), followed closely by staff in Glasgow (43 minutes and 11 seconds). People in Nottingham spend the least just 14 minutes and 43 seconds shopping online, the lowest of any UK city. Those in London spend 23 minutes and 51 seconds online shopping at work.

On average, Brits spend over £70 per person (£77.49) shopping online whilst working a 9am – 5pm shift, according to transaction data from Give as you Live. 11am on a Monday morning is the most popular period for a work time purchase.

There has been a 14% increase in the number of transactions between 9am and 5pm, from January to July 2014, compared to the same period in 2013.

Steff Lewis from Give as you Live, said: “It’s often said that there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done, something our figures confirm.  Working nine to five is how most people make a living, but it also means we have less time to do important ‘life admin’ like shopping. Now we can see how Brits are coping – by shopping on the boss’ dollar. ”