A sixth of your wages are spent at work: Commuting, lunches and office birthdays see average worker spend £263 a month Work-related costs swallow on average £263 per month Commuting, clothes and office birthdays drain the accounts In total, work related spending add up to more than £3.150 per year By Daily Mail Recipe Expensive ride: The average British worker spends £160 per month on travelling to and from work The average worker spends almost a sixth of his wages on commuting, lunches and office birthdays, a study revealed yesterday. Some £263 of the average monthly take-home pay of £1,543 is swallowed by work-related costs. Office clothes, sponsorship whip-rounds and expenses that are either unclaimed or denied add to a yearly tally of almost £3,158, research found. It also emerged that nearly a quarter of Brits have had to quit a job because they couldn't afford the cost to commute and work there. Andy Oldham, Managing Director at cashback site Quidco.com, which commissioned the research, said: "Considering we primarily go to work to earn money, it's frustrating to realise how much of our earnings are ploughed back into our job one way or another. When considering a new job, most people will consider a commute cost, but fail to factor in items such as clothing, lunch, teas and coffees and the odd whip round. All of these soon add up. Those struggling with the cost of work, should consider using discount codes and vouchers to buy lunch. Buying your work wardrobe though a cashback site like ours, will also see more people reunited with hard-earned cash, as we return the sale commissions from our 3,500 retailers, back to the shopper. The study of 2,000 workers found that in an average month, the biggest chunk of our wages is spent on commuting into work with fuel, train fares and parking fees totalling around £161 every month. Another £58 is spent on buying lunch and snacks from nearby shops, while almost £14 goes on providing your own tea, coffee and milk. Contributions to colleagues" leaving and birthday gifts account for another £6 each month - or £72 annually. Going all out: Colleagues birthdays and leaving gifts eat up more than £70 per year for British workers Each year, a further £185 is spent on buying clothes and shoes to wear in the office and more than £25 goes on sponsoring colleagues for charity events. Monthly spending to work: Fuel, train fare, parking fees: £161.04 Lunch and snacks: £58.04 Tea/coffee/milk: £13.60 Birthday/leaving contributions: £6.07 Work wardrobe: £15.45 Sponsorship for colleagues: £2.10 Forgotten or denied expenses: £6.86 Total per month: £263.16 Total per year: £3157.92 Forgetting to claim back expenses, or being told you can't get back certain costs, adds another £82 to the total. Researchers also found that a third of Brits have had to turn down a job because they would need to spend too much commuting. And 23 per cent have had to ask for a pay rise to cover their costs. However, more than three quarters of the UK's workforce have said they would be prepared to plough a bigger chunk of their wages back into their job, if it was their dream role. It also emerged that almost half worry about the amount of their wages that gets eaten up by work-related expenses with 45 per cent trying to cut back on the amount they have to part with. More than four in ten have taken in leftovers or packed lunches to save money, while thirty per cent have avoided buying new clothes to add to their work wardrobe. Lift-sharing with a colleague, walking or cycling to work and putting less - or even no money - towards birthday or leaving collections are other ways the UK workforce try to cut back on work spend.