CorpComms Magazine

The UK workforce is feigning 35 million sick days a year and more than one in five UK workers confesses to having shammed illness the last time they took a day off work, according to a survey of more than 7,500 European workers by employee risk and benefits specialists Aon Consulting.

The UK is responsible for more than a quarter of the 122 million 'sickies' pulled across Europe. Men are the worst offenders, with a quarter confessing their last sick day was not entirely legitimate, compared to 18 per cent of women.

Three in ten workers said that flexible working practices would dissuade them from taking illegitimate leave; 23 per cent proposed the provision of social or duvet days to keep them on the ball and in the office; whilst 16 per cent admitted they would have less incentive to remain at home if their work were more interesting.

Unsurprisingly, 28 per cent favoured the carrot model to motivate good attendance, suggesting the deal could be sweetened with a substantial cash incentive, whilst 15 per cent advocated the stick, recommending reduced payment for those taking sick leave.

Peter Abelskamp, director of health and benefits EMEA at Aon Consulting, said: 'Over thirty five million days taken as fictitious sick leave is costing the UK economy millions and these are probably conservative figures, considering the number of people who don't admit to faking sickness. Employers would be well advised to tackle the issues of sickness and workplace absence head on, as these seriously impact efficiency and hit their balance sheets.

'Fifty-two per cent of Brits say they would not feel forced to take a day as sick leave if they could just be honest and have access to flexible working hours or 'social days'. Of course employers should also not ignore the fact that 16 per cent of people say that more interesting work would keep them in the office.

'The economic turmoil facing the UK has probably reduced the number of sick days taken, as 14 per cent of people say the threat of redundancy would actually force them to cut down the number of days off for non-medical reasons. Perhaps not surprisingly, over a quarter of respondents say a cash incentive on top of their salary would also encourage them to come in to work.'

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