The most bizarre sickie excuses revealed

Would you believe any of these farfetched reasons for employee absence?

The most bizarre sickie excuses revealed
Yesterday marked National Sickie Day - the first Monday in February, traditionally the day on which the greatest number of employees takes the day off work.

In the UK, just under 215,000 were expected to call in sick for one reason or another on this day, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The absence rate on Mondays remains almost double that of Fridays (23.5% compared to 13.2%), based on a survey of 9,700 employees at 81 companies across the UK. April is the month with the fewest number of absences, said employment law firm ELAS.

ELAS also observed a new trend for increased absence on Mondays throughout the year. Employers should watch out for absences in January, November and December.

But employers react differently to the myriad of excuses their employees give when they miss work. For example, only one in five bosses consider a migraine or headache serious enough.

Just 37% think back pain, an injury from an accident or an elective surgery – cataract operation, for instance, or hip replacement – an adequate reason.

Medical insurance provider Axa surveyed 1,000 business owners, managing directors and chief executives and found that the flu remains the most acceptable reason for workers to stay at home, with 41% of respondents citing it.

Telegraph readers who were polled agreed, with 37% saying the flu was a good-enough excuse. Just five per cent would believe a common cold.

Mental health issues, the less physically obvious such as stress, depression and anxiety were viewed less kindly by managers. As a result, employees are more likely to lie if the reason for their absence is non-physical – 40% are not inclined to tell the truth.  In contrast, a poll of 1,000 non-executive employees found that seven per cent would lie if they had to miss fork for a physical ailment.
 
In 2017, the most acceptable reasons for calling in sick were: flu, back pain, injury caused by accident, stress, elective surgery, depression, anxiety, common colds and migraine.

Meanwhile, these are the most outrageous excuses offered by employees. “As incredulous as some of these excuses sound, they are all real calls that were taken by our consultants in the last year,” Enrique Garcia at ELAS Group said.
 
  • I have to move house today and only found out last night
  • I've broken my fingernail and my finger is sore
  • My daughter has booked for me to go to the Emmerdale set today as a Christmas gift
  • There's a mouse in my kitchen, I'm terrified of it and have to find a way to get it out
  • I fell off a stepladder while getting boxes out of the loft and injured my arm. I could have broken the fall but didn't want to damage the Christmas decorations
  • I'm unable to come to work today as the sun is making me feel sick
  • My dog has heatstroke
  • I've got indigestion
  • I'm too sunburnt
  • I went to a wedding over the weekend and am still too hung-over

"It is acceptable to challenge employees on their reasons for or levels of absence, especially if you identify a pattern that may lead you to believe these absences are not caused by genuine sickness," Garcia said.


Related stories:
Are your workers wasting 67 days a year?
Wearable technology: the end of the sickie?


 

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