Carried out on 286 hospitality employees by recruitment agency, The Change Group, the survey found that only 6% have claimed to be ill and taken a day off when they were actually fit to go in, while 37% haven’t taken off a single day sick in the past year. A further 40% have “only taken off one or two days as a result of illness.”

The majority (65%) meanwhile admitted to having gone into work ill or unwell for a number of reasons, ranging from to “avoid being sacked” (just over 9%), “taking time off is frowned upon by employers” (less than 9%) and “to ensure they were paid” (16%) to supporting fellow workers (52%) and because they love their job (29%). 40% also said they went in ‘because they’d rather work than be at home if well enough” (40%).

Founder and director of The Change Group, Craig Allen, said: “People love working in the hospitality sector – apparently even when they are ill and should perhaps stay home instead.

“Despite the sometimes long and anti-social hours, hospitality is a fun sector to work in and encourages strong teamwork, and these are perhaps the key reasons why employees show up when they are unwell.”

That said, despite the fact that 72% have been with current employers for over one year, a third claimed they “are not eligible for any sick pay, though they can take unpaid days off work if they sick.”

Allen added: “We would definitely recommend employers think carefully about their sick pay policies, especially for long tenure workers, as this can be seen as an important benefit.

“In fact, we are now seeing more and more employers offering full pay when employees take days off sick, as well as providing health insurance for key workers. Even though the research shows most hospitality employees don’t take much time off sick, these benefits can make a huge difference in terms of attracting the best talent.”