Sickness worry for Britain's over-50s

Workers over the age of 50 are less likely to take a day off under the pretense of being sick, new research has established.

Workers over the age of 50 are less likely to take a day off under the pretense of being sick, new research has established.

A study by Saga Private Medical Insurance which polled 2,032 British adults revealed older workers were more against the practice in comparison to their younger colleagues.

Of those polled, half of people aged over 50 thought 'sickies' were dishonest and a bad thing. In comparison, only 34 per cent of younger workers held a similar view.

Almost half of under-50s believed that everyone takes them once in a while and that they do no harm. Over a third of workers in total have pulled a sickie.

Sick leaves are estimated to cost the British economy more than £13 billion a year, with nearly one in eight days taken thought to be fake.

Bad bosses, inflexible offices and job dissatisfaction are some of the leading reasons that make employees phone in false sick leaves.