Scotland has been dubbed the “sickie” capital of the UK with more workers faking illness than in any other part of Britain.
Figures show that skiving workers are costing their employers an average of £357 every time they call in with a supposed sickness.
Most claim to be ill with the “flu” when they are really suffering under stressful work situations, having childcare problems or being hungover.
Others opt for a “duvet day” – staying in bed because of the onset of bad weather or simply hating their job, a survey found.
Research which included statistics from The Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows 38million days are lost in the UK through fake illness, costing business £900million a year.
The man hours lost equates to the number of working days to build two Channel Tunnels, or 40 hospitals.
A survey of more than 3,500 employees, carried out by job search website Adzuna.co.uk, revealed that Scottish workers were the biggest offenders with 38% (808 Scots) admitting to “throwing a sickie”.
Business services was the worst offender and the biggest “real” reason for staying off work was to avoid a stressful situation, such as a meeting or presentation.
The north-east of England had the lowest number of faked sicknesses, with childcare issues cited as the main real reason for taking time off.
The weather was the main motive behind those in Northern Ireland pulling a sickie.
Of all those who admitted faking sickness, 18% admitted to getting caught by their employer.
Of these, 36% were given a verbal or written warning, 24% an informal “telling off”, 22% faced no action and 18% were fired from their job.
