Festive absence set to cost UK businesses over £164million

Written by Luke Carter

Saturday, 07 November 2009 23:05

Pulling a Sickie.

According to a study carried out by Moneysupermarket, UK businesses stand to lose over £160 million over the Christmas period. It is predicted that 1 in every 20 employees plans to call in sick to work to allow them more time for their Christmas shopping - with young workers being the worst offenders with one in ten under-20s planning to throw a Santa sickie.

Employers are also fearing a considerable increase in lengthy lunch breaks over the Christmas period as one in every six workers plans to take more than their allocated hour in order to get all their shopping done.

“The research shows that Christmas shopping takes a lot of time, more time than many people feel they have in the run up to the festive season. However, the potential cost of the Santa sickie to employers and to career prospects of employees is massive. So, if shopping at the weekends is your idea of hell or simply not practical, shopping online might be a good alternative. This year, 27 million people plan to do their Christmas shopping online. Open 24 hours, seven days a week and with many goods available at lower prices than on the high street, it’s a sensible solution to an annual headache. And it should keep your boss in a festive mood.” Rob Barnes, Head of Moneysupermarket Shopping

Men do not fare too well in this report either. The research indicated that alsmost one in every sixteen men are planning to throw a sickie by faking man flue to get those extra shopping hours in.

Employees in the North West are more likely to fake a Santa sickie. By contrast, only one percent of employees in Yorkshire plan to take an unscheduled day off work to go shopping.

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