Employers should not tolerate casual absence from their workforce, including those in banking jobs.
That is according to the Institute for Employment Studies (IES), which reveals that companies which allow casual absence are likely to suffer from employees taking dubious sick-days.
It is suggested that this is particularly important at a time when people may feel inclined to take time off because of stress.
Sue Hayday, senior research fellow at the IES, said that if people needed time off there were a number of ways of allowing this without affecting overall working times, provided employers were willing to be flexible.
She said: "Non-genuine absence due to domestic responsibilities or problems should be tackled by flexible working arrangements, such as being able to work from home, or changed starting and finishing times, or making the hours up at a later date."
Ms Hayday added that line managers should be well trained in how to handle the attendance of staff.
