British workers ‘not taking as many sick days’, CBI suggests

British workers are taking fewer sick days, averaging 6.4 a year, according to results from a new survey.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI)/Pfizer Absence and Workplace Health Survey has revealed that the absence figure was the lowest since its survey began in 1987, but the 180 million sick days still cost the UK economy an estimated 16.8 billion pounds.

A small improvement in the public-sector absence rate was said to help explain the fall, but it still remains significantly higher than the private-sector rate.

Senior HR staff surveyed at 241 public and private-sector organisations estimated that around 15 per cent of sick days are not genuine, costing the country 2.5 billion pounds a year.

Katja Hall, director of employment policy at the CBI, said: “If absence levels across the board could be reduced by ten per cent, the economy would see annual savings of just under 1.7 billion pounds.”