NEARLY three quarters of employees in the South West are most likely to pull a sick day after a heavy night's drinking according to new research.

The survey shows 73 per cent of workers in the region would be tempted to make that morning phone call to get out of work, compared to 52 per cent in London.

Research by the Confederation of British Industry found that sickies cost British businesses £11.6 billion every year.

Dennis Grant, of the Swin-don Chamber of Commerce, said workers here feel safer due to the unusually high employment rate.

"They feel they are not running any great risk. Taking a sickie has become part of a trend.

"The employers' legal position is tricky too how do you prove an employee doesn't have a headache?"

Martin Jarrett, personnel manager at Swindon-based CATS, who manages 70 employees, said it was not a big problem, if treated correctly.

"It's the way the staff are managed" he said and his company has reintroduced return to work interviews.