The beach in Brighton is packed

Sicknote staff have been abandoning the office in droves and heading for sun-kissed beaches.

As rain left Marbella’s beach deserted, more than 30,000 basked on the sand in Brighton yesterday – despite it being a weekday in term time.

And more workers plan to follow suit, taking advantage of the hottest start to May since  records began in 1772.

However, many will not be using up their precious holiday allowance – they will pull a sickie instead.

Top of the list of excuses is a sudden bout of flu, with migraines, food-poisoning, broken-down cars and toothache close behind.

Sickies cost the economy £1.6billion a year in 21 million lost working days, said the Confederation of British Industry.

Around 12% of work absences are suspect. About 70% of sickies are down to staff extending weekends by bunking off on a Friday or Monday and 68% add an extra day to permitted holiday, say bosses. Now many are installing lie detectors to catch the cheats.

After a successful trial in seven areas, Voice Risk Analysis, which picks out “indicators” in a caller’s voice which show when they’re fibbing, is being rolled out to companies.

But some business leaders reckon the brilliant weather will help the economy.

A spokesman for the British Chambers of Commerce said yesterday: “I think you’ll find a boost to the economy through the feel-good factor.”

The glorious weather is expected to continue throughout the month.

Temperatures in Britain beat the Mediterranean with highs of 26C (79F) in Lee-on-Solent, Hants, and 25C (77F) at Exeter, Bournemouth and Heathrow.

Athens and the Algarve recorded 20C (68F) but temperatures in the Balearic islands were only in the high teens.
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