Web site promoting sick day calls panned

LONDON, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- A British business group said a Web site that instructs workers on how to call in sick is nothing to sneeze at.

"The impact of absence leave is greater on a small employer than on a larger organization," Stephen Alambritis, head of public affairs at the Federation of Small Businesses, Health Insurance and Protection, said Thursday.

"If a small business of four staff is suffering absence from one member then that equates to a 25 percent drop in resources for that business," Alambritis said.

The Web site is part of an advertising campaign that encourages workers to "Take a Benylin Day." On the site, workers are instructed on different approaches for calling in sick, based on the type of boss they have.

Seventy-three percent of employers prefer a worker call in sick if they are not well, the Web site claims.

British workers recently set a record for calling in sick. On Monday, Jan. 5, a total of 2.4 million workers called in sick, representing 8.3 percent of the workforce, Alambritis's federation reported.