Monday 1st February was National Sickie Day, and we decided to poll 500 of the UK’s small business owners to find out the worst excuse they had heard from staff in their small business
Monday 1st February was National Pull a Sickie Day – a day where people are encouraged to take a sick day and enjoy a three day weekend. Most people will usually stick to the classics to avoid detection – “I can’t come into work today; I’ve got a stomach bug”, “I’ve got to go to the doctors” or “my child is ill” are all tried and tested reasons people given as genuine (and not so genuine) reasons for not going to work.
For Britain’s small and micro businesses, an employee ringing in sick can be much more troublesome than just getting someone else to come in.
Businesses with very few staff can really struggle when someone doesn’t come in. With this in mind, we asked some of our small business owners what the weirdest excuses people gave for not coming into work on Pull a Sickie day were, and we certainly got some creative ones back!
Of all the excuses we received, the weirdest excuses given in our survey were:
1. My Mum Was Vacuuming the Stairs
"My mum is vacuuming the stairs and I can’t get past"
2. I Don’t Want to Lose My Parking Space
"I can't attend work as I had secured a parking space outside my house, and did not want to lose it."
3. My Flatmates Took the Handle Off My Door
"My flatmates took my door handle off and I can’t get out (employee was a student)"
4. All My Tops Are Wet
"One of our employees told me that they couldn't come in because all their clothes were wet"
5. I Couldn’t Come to Work Because My Phone Battery Died So My Alarm Didn’t Work
"I forgot to charge my phone and it died overnight, so it didn’t wake me up in the morning"
6. I Can’t Come in Because I Fell Up Some Stairs
"I can't come in because I fell up some stairs and broke my foot"
7.Accidentally Drank Mouthwash
"I can't come in because I accidentally drank some mouthwash"
8.I Have Conjunctivitis
"I can't come to work because I have conjunctivitis" - the employee had sprayed deodorant in her eyes to make it look like she had the infection.
9. The Power Has Gone Out
"I can't come into work because the power's gone out and I need to wait for it to come back on".
10. A Pipe Has Burst
"I can't come to work today because a pipe burst and I need to have it sorted" - the employee was stood next to a shower.
