In contemporary Western societies, balancing work and family life remains a challenge for many parents. While fathers are increasingly expected to engage in caregiving, structural constraints such as extended commuting and very long working hours often hinder their involvement. This paper investigates work-related time constraints, focusing in particular on commuting as an under-recognised factor that limits fathers’ involvement in everyday family life. The study uses data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study, applying fixed- and random-effects ordered logistic models to assess how changes in commuting time affect fathers’ involvement in interactive and emotionally significant aspects of family life: shared leisure activities, family dinners, and meaningful conversations. The results show that commuting times of 60 minutes or more are significantly associated with reduced paternal involvement in structured routines such as shared meals and leisure activities, even after controlling for working hours and other socio-demographic factors. Interaction analyses reveal contrasting patterns, with long commutes particularly reducing leisure involvement among high-income fathers but mainly undermining family dinners in lower-resource households. This study advances sociological debates on fatherhood, temporal inequality, and work-family reconciliation, while also informing family policy and urban planning in contexts of persistent or rising commuting demands.