Taking A Sick (Pet) Day..

Almost one quarter of UK bosses say they know that their employees are using excuses about pets to take days off work, according to research, out today, from insurer More Than. Their employees are even more in the know with almost half admitting to being aware of 'poorly petš scams in the workplace.

More Than is calling the problem 'Slocombe Syndrome' after Mrs Slocombe from the 1970s comedy Are You Being Served? who frequently used her off-screen poorly cat as an excuse to get out of work.

The research was carried out by Fly Research. 1,000 UK workers and bosses were surveyed between Friday 30th May and Sunday 1st June. Extrapolating, More Than says 400,000 British workers have used a pet as an excuse for a free day off.

The statistics also reveal that two thirds of bosses, (59%) say they are extremely suspicious of pet-related excuses ­ workers bunking off due to hangovers is the only thing that riles them more. Almost two thirds, (63%) also report that their staff are more likely to pull 'unauthorised sickies' over the summer.

Mel Everest, Head of Pet Insurance for More Than, said:

"People really should think twice before making the sick pet call. For those people who actually own a pet, there will come a time when they really do need to take time off to care for them."

The findings also show that Londoners are the most likely to make up a sick pet excuse to take a day off work, with Cardiff, Norwich and Liverpool also faring badly. Geordies, says More Than, are the most unlikely workers in the UK to use a pet to pull a sickie.