UK employers are losing tens of millions of pounds a year because of the huge number of employees sneaking extra days off work either side of the weekend, according to research. Nine in 10 of the 600 small- and medium-sized firms questioned by Employment Law Advisory Services (ELAS) said the most common day for sickness was either Monday or Friday. The survey found that 67% of respondents said Monday was by far the worst day of the week for sickness while 23% cited Friday as the day they were affected most. “Everyone suffers from the Monday morning blues from time to time,” said Pam Rogerson, head of personnel at ELAS. “But some people are taking this to extremes, not necessarily taking a lot of time off sick over the course of a year, but making sure they only ever fall ill around a weekend.” UK businesses currently lose almost £12bn a year as a result of absenteeism in the workplace – an average of £601 per employee per year – with women more likely to throw a sickie than men.
