Hangovers account for most sick days

13 April 2012

A third of British workers think it is all right to pull a sickie - and the top reason for doing so is because they are hungover, says research published today.

Half of managers do not believe most cases of sick leave are genuine, according to research among 430 organisations earlier this month.

Sex is one of the top reasons women take a sickie, research found. One in three British women admitted in a survey to having telephoned in sick for some under-the-cover antics.

Last year the TUC said Britain was becoming a "sickie nation" because of the stresses and strains of the modern workplace.

It followed a report which recorded 40 million days were lost to work-related injuries and ill health in 2001 following a huge increase in the number of workers suffering from stress.

One in four workers admitted to regularly 'throwing a sickie' when they cannot face work, with Monday the most popular day off, according to a survey last year.

The survey found that an upset stomach is a favourite excuse. Most skivers lack the courage to call the office themselves - they get their mother to do it.

Young people in the 16-34 age group admitted skiving far more often than older workers, in the survey.

Recent figures released by the CBI showed that bogus absences cost British businesses as much as £11.6 billion a year.

The CBI research said that public sector employees took more sick days each year (6.8) compared with workers in the private sector (4.6).

Short term absence counted for 95% of total absence, it said, and most employers thought 30% of sick days were bogus.

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