Health guidelines being offered in the UK have led many employers to voice their concerns that there could be a growth in the number of people using the advice in order to skive off work.

Employment Law Advisory Services (ELAS) has revealed that it has been inundated with calls from managers who feel that staff who have not demonstrated any signs of illness but are taking time off.

The employment law service stated that in many cases a self-diagnosis website had been consulted and that this had led to more disruption in the workplace than actual swine flu.

Peter Mooney, ELAS’s head of consultancy, said: "The number of deliberate false cases of the condition is having a significant impact on workplaces across the country, something bosses are keen to tackle."

Martino Corbelli, marketing director at Star, recently advised that employees not wishing to come into the office during the pandemic could work from home if remote working technology is in place, which may help employers in terms of absence management.

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