Women more likely to take sick leaves

London: They may not agree with this, but a new survey has found that women are more likely than men to take sick leaves and even give embarrassing excuses.

The research found that employees were more likely to take an unwarranted day off this month than at any other time of year.

And women were less likely than men to believe a colleague who phoned in sick was genuinely ill, according to the survey carried out for Sovereign Health Care, one of the biggest health care firms of the UK.

For the survey, researchers polled 1,360 people and found more than half (56 per cent) of the female participants admitted to pulling a sickie when not really ill, compared with just a third of men, the Telegraph reported.

Both sexes agreed that using 'women's issues' was the most common embarrassing excuse to a boss for being off.

Among the extreme and perhaps far-fetched reasons the women give for their absence included: 'My dog has fallen and broken all its legs', 'There's a squirrel in my lounge', 'I've been away for the weekend and need to stay at home because my cat's missed me', 'I can't find my shoes' among others.

Russ Piper, Sovereign Health Care chief executive, said: "Workplace absence is an emotive subject, particularly when so many employees now feel they have to do more just to keep their jobs, without having to pick up the slack from

others who are taking, perhaps unjustified, days off.

"Managing absence can be a complex process, but employers have a responsibility to all members of staff to ensure they are motivated and supported and that their systems are not open to abuse," Piper said.