Number of sick days falls

The absence rate last year was the lowest since 1987, but still averages 6.4 days per employee.

A survey by CBI and Pfizer showed that there were 180 million sick days last year, which represent a cost to the British economy of around £2.5 billion in direct and indirect costs.

The public sector absence rate at 8.3 days a year is significantly higher than the private sector rate, which is 5.8 days.

It has been estimated that 15% of sick days taken are not for genuine illness.