According to national statistics the first Monday in February is the day when people are most likely to pull a sickie.

One of the factors attributed to this is the first payday since Christmas, meaning people have been out celebrating all weekend with a particularly heavy one. Another theory is that people have a tendency to re-evaluate their career path in January, meaning that a lot of these sickies are actually to attend interviews. These factors combined have been linked to the estimated 350,000 absences from work on the first Monday of February last year.

We’ve been scanning the web for the top ten funniest reasons that people have called in sick. So at least if you are one of the people that weren’t aware of National Sickie Day, or just too pure of conscience to jump on the bandwagon and you’re sat dutifully in a near empty office, you can sit back and have a giggle at the daft things people will come up with to have a day off!

I can’t come in today because my flatmates took my door handle off and I can’t get out.

All of my work clothes are wet so I can’t make it in today.

I’ve managed to secure a parking space outside my house and I can’t risk losing it.

Goats got into my garden.

I’m stuck in the bathroom. (These pesky doors!)

My mum was hoovering the stairs and I couldn’t get past.

My hamster’s poorly.

Death of a distant relative (often found out later to be very much alive).

My trousers split on the way in.

I swallowed a hot sausage last night and it burnt my throat so badly I can’t breathe today.