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WORKERS: READ THIS

■ UK workers are an unhappy bunch and the most likely in Europe to pull a sickie, says research. Over a quarter of employees feel it’s OK to call in sick when they don’t want to go in, and think it’s OK to do so two or more times a year. Two in five Brit grafters also told HR tech firm ADP they don’t look forward to going to work, while almost a fifth said they considered quitting at least once a week.

■ The gender pay gap for UK jobs can be over £15,000. Analysis by UK accountancy firm SJD found IT and engineering sectors have the largest pay gaps with females earning 30% less than male counterparts at an average £15,750. In finance, there’s a 21% difference in salaries at £11,000. It’s shocking that despite pressure on businesses to disclose gender pay gaps to encourage more equal remuneration that such a huge discrepancy still exists. More needs to be done to close it.

■ More than a third of working Brits have less than a month’s salary in savings – and one in seven hasn’t got a penny stashed away. This means huge numbers would be unable to cope financially with an unexpected income shock, such as divorce, bereavement, redundancy or illness. Heidi Allan, head of employee wellbeing at financial wellbeing provider Neyber, said: “It is critical that people have some way of paying for smaller things like unexpected bills, as well as protection in place for bigger problems such as losing a job. Otherwise small income shocks could lead Britain’s workers spiralling into debt.”