Top 10 worst excuses for absence

How many members of your staff have called in sick today?

It is Monday after all, meaning a few employees who overindulged will perhaps feign a cough or a cold. But there are some excuses which are so excessive and exaggerated that you can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it.

To celebrate these follies, absence management specialists ELAS have collated the outrageous excuses they’ve heard from people calling in sick.

Emma O'Leary, Employment Law Consultant for the ELAS Group, says: "These excuses might sound weird and wonderful but they are all genuine reasons we have heard from our clients over the last year.