The seven weirdest excuses to get out of work

Everyone gets tempted to take a duvet day once in a while. But how can staff really convince you that they need the time off?

Some will go to great lengths to prove they need some time to rest. For example, a scientist who was unhappy with his shift pattern came up with a novel way of getting out of work. Wales Online reports that Bernard Watkins, a biomedical scientist in the microbiology department at Cwm Taf University Health Board, decided to ‘prove’ to his bosses that he had food poisoning by swapping a sample of his stool with that of a sick patient’s.

He knew the sample contained salmonella, so hoped that his team would accept his excuse. However, when he was asked to provide another sample signed by his GP, it was not found to contain the bug.

Watkins' name will now be struck off from the register and he will be unable to carry on working as a scientist.