Ahead of National Sickie Day on Monday 6th February, Paddy Power Games has launched a Sickie Generator, allowing Brits to craft the perfect sickie excuse – following research showing 45% of Brits confessing to skiving off work.
On Monday, 375,000 Brits are expected to ‘pull a sickie’, and the bookmaker has crafted a whole host of perfectly believable excuses including “I’ve got an eye test at Barnard Castle this afternoon” and “my partner bit me in a delicate place”, accessible by visiting the Sickie Generator.
Exclusive research by the bookmaker reveals 45% of Brits confessed to skiving off work in the last year, with 30% of those declaring they’ve done it more than once.
The study also asked Brits why they pulled a sickie, with a third claiming they “felt a bit tired” (31%).
Running out of annual leave (20%) was the second most popular reason, with being hungover and hating their job completing the top three, with 19% respectively.
The top-three most used reasons for pulling a sickie, according to Brits:
| Rank | Reason for sickie | % of UK population |
| 1 | I felt a bit tired | 31% |
| 2 | I could not take the day as annual leave, so I took it off anyway | 20% |
| 3 | I was hungover | 19% |
| 3= | I hate my job | 19% |
The research looked into what area of the country is most likely to pull a sickie, with nearly two-thirds of Londoners (61%) admitting to taking at least one “sick” day – with 2% of Londoners having pulled more than 16 sickies in the last year.
More than half of residents in the North-West of England (51%) have divulged their love for taking a day off, with almost half of Welsh natives (46%) completing the top three.
The top three UK regions who pull the most “sickies”:
| Rank | UK region | Proportion of Brits pulling sickies |
| 1 | London | 61% |
| 2 | North-West | 51% |
| 3 | Wales | 46% |
When it comes to Brits pulling a sickie from work, 14% have been caught by their boss, with 4% confessing to having been caught more than once by their superior.
And, it’s the Gen Z’s (18-24 years old) who have been found out more often than not, as 23% admit to being apprehended red-handed, with a mere 7% of baby boomers (55+) being caught at least once by their boss.
