The former “sick man of Europe” has perked up. Data uncovered by the Financial Times reveal that levels of sick leave in the UK have been falling over the past decade, with the steepest decline coming in the past year – in spite of the current swine flu epidemic.

While 2.6 per cent of male employees took at least one sick day in the week prior to being surveyed in 2001, the figure dropped to 1.7 per cent in 2009.