The most acceptable time for a sickie revealed

Receiving a ‘sickie’ call from an employee on a Monday, even if they are genuinely ill, invariably sparks a train of thought within management that assumes an outlandish reason for the absence.

If that call is received a day later, then the chances are that the above won’t happen. Research from market research company Attest found that 6.38am on a Tuesday is the best time to call in sick. This is because Tuesday is seen as a ‘non-day’.

From our partner

How to engage, attract & retain employees

Be it a genuine sickness or a sickie – culture needs to become more accepting of staff taking time off. Last year UK workers took just over four days (4.3) sick days - the lowest since records began in 1993 – according to the Office for National Statistics. This isn’t because the workforce is fit and healthy. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Nine out of ten of us go into work when we’re ill, costing businesses much more as illnesses are passed on to colleagues, research from Canada Life found.