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Third of Londoners are happy to 'pull a sickie'
Jonathan Prynn, Consumer Affairs Editor27 May 2008
A third of Londoners admit to regularly missing work through "sickies", in the highest level of unauthorised absence in Britain.
A survey of workers found 33 per cent of London employees occasionally phone in sick when they are not ill, compared with 19 per cent nationally. One worker in 12 said they did so at least three times a year, twice the national average.
Londoners also revealed attitudes to what justified a day at home, with 12 per cent saying a hangover made a sickie "fair game". Other reasons included "job hunting" (18 per cent) and "feeling tired" (12 per cent).
Bizarrely, some of the most common excuses cited elsewhere in Britain - "children off school sick" and "transport-problems/weather" - were considered less valid in London, where a Tube strike was not seen as a genuine excuse.
Employers are concerned about high levels of unauthorised absence and its effect on the economy. Gemma Camp of market research firm TNS, which carried out the poll, said: "We have seen a steady increase in employers taking practical measures to curb 'sickies'."
A separate survey this month from CBI and insurance group AXA found 12 per cent of the 172 million work days lost to absence were likely to be sickies, costing the economy about £1.6 billion.
Reader views (2)
I have just been promoted but I am already covering 2 other divisions plus my own and I am expected to help cover our boss absence who's off for 2 months. Alongside this I am trying to study for our national exam. I've just bought a house and am meant to be planning my wedding but these 2 things have fallen by the wayside so I can focus on being good at my job. I work for a gov organisation and from what I gather people have been impressed with my work. I have a better work ethic than most in the department and yet because I come in late and go home late instead or coming in early and going home early the impression is they work harder. On top of this it is more acceptable for staff to be off on holiday for 2 weeks than for anyone to pull a sicky for 1 or 2 days and yet covering for someone for 2 weeks is far more inconvenient. I feel very guilty about taking a sicky which probably happens every 4 or 5 months but I usually work myself very hard and the sicky is because I feel exhausted. I feel sick because I have lost perspective because I'm so tired and I feel I need a day to collect myself together again. My recent sicky happened after working till 7pm at the office having run around like crazy all day but feeling proud of myself for working hard & getting loads done. After getting on the bus I was promptly verbally attacked by some woman who spotted my ID badge round my neck. I felt worthless. Half the sickies taken are probably from undervalued staff.
- Kamila, Manchester, 20/10/2008 10:08
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I'm now 42 and worked since I was 16. It also goes without saying I've always been a taxpayer. I find it important now and again to 'pull a sickie' simply to recharge. Working life has become far more stressful and demanding over the past twenty years and we are not bone idle or shirking in having the odd day off.
We are only human and it's also fair to assume that very few of us actually like our jobs or the people we have to work with. This is also compounded by the fact that a lot of our taxes go towards people with no intention of ever working.
- Steve, London, 20/10/2008 09:08
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