MORE people in Scotland pull a 'sickie' than anywhere else in the UK, research suggests.

Almost 40% of Scots employees admitted feigning illness to bosses ast year, with the majority doing so because of a stressful work situation.

Childcare issues were also cited as a reason for missing work.

Figures show Scotland loses more than 5 million days each year to employees pulling sickies.

Overall, out of all the employees in the UK who pretended to be sick, 18% confessed they had got caught in the act.

The average cost for employers for each worker is £357 on average.

More than 3,500 employees were surveyed across the UK by Adzuna.co.uk and 38% in Scotland admitted they had lied about their health.

Business services was the industry in which sickies were most prevalent.

In the South West of the UK, 36% of employees admitted to throwing a sickie last year, because of a stressful situation at work. 

On the other end of the scale, the North East was the region which had the lowest number of employees who faked a sickness, with employees in the non-profit industry the most common.