Companies are being warned to expect higher than usual levels of staff absence as children return to school and the weather takes a turn for the worse.

Research by Lemsip into how people deal with colds and flu claims this time of year is particularly risky for staff, and parents in particular.

“Back-to-school season is a bad time of year for UK businesses in terms of sickness levels, as germs are spread among the new school intake, which are then passed on to mum and dad,” the research claimed. “One in 10 parents is likely to have caught a cold from their offspring as soon as the school gates opened for the new term.”

The survey discovered that 59% of employees are ’gladiators‘, who will attempt to battle on regardless despite feeling ill, and 32% ’hibernators‘, who will phone in sick at the first sign of a sniffle.

Salespeople and office admin staff are the most likely to take time off work when struck down by a cold or the flu, the research suggested, with 22% and 18% respectively admitting their tactic is to hide themselves away for fear of spreading the virus around the office.

Nearly half (45%) of those questioned said they rarely took time off work, with worrying about letting colleagues down cited by 43% and missing an important meeting by 29%.

Those working in the emergency services are the most likely to feel they are letting their colleagues down by failing to arrive for work, cited by 68% of respondents in this profession.

Tradesmen are the least likely to take time off work due to a cold or flu, the research discovered, with 76% saying they would battle on regardless. This is likely to be due to the high number of self-employed tradesmen who are not entitled to any form of sick pay for taking time off work. Teachers and others in the education sector followed, at 71%.

The survey also highlighted an emerging trend among UK workers for so-called ’HUDDLE‘ days, standing for ’hide under duvet, do little else‘, at the tail end of a bout of flu. The research claims this is common practice for 25% of public sector workers and 20% of private sector employees.

Such a habit could increase the average number of sick-days taken significantly and increase the cost of absence to UK businesses.