Shocking numbers work while ill, report says

Employers are seeing more staff turning up to work while ill, according to a report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

It surveyed more than 1,000 organisations this year and found that 86% had observed staff attending work while ill, or "presenteeism".

The rise compares with a survey in 2010 when just 26% of employers observed the behaviour.

The CIPD also found high numbers of staff willing to work while on holiday.

The scale of the problem is "shocking" according to Rachel Suff, Senior Employment Relations Adviser at the CIPD who said "people feel under even more pressure to work".

She said employers need to do more to tackle the issue.

"Too few organisations are discouraging unhealthy workplace practices and tackling stress, which is strongly linked to health conditions such as anxiety and depression," Ms Suff said.

Media captionSickness and wages: Do I get paid if I am off work?

Last year, the TUC described UK workers as "mucus troopers" after the Office for National Statistics said that sickness absence totalled 137 million working days in 2016, the equivalent of 4.3 days per worker and the lowest on record.