A quarter of UK residents don’t believe chronic illness is a legitimate reason to miss work. Many chronic and often invisible health conditions are not regarded by the British public as legitimate reasons for long term absence from work, survey findings show. The survey of 2,000 people found that while the majority (77%) of Britons agreed that chronic illness could be a legitimate cause of long term absence, perceptions of individual conditions differed widely. Migraine, repetitive strain injury and chronic skin complaints were perceived by most as not legitimate causes of absence, while only 7.6% were sympathetic to allergy-related absence. In contrast more than half (51.8%) felt that someone suffering from chronic joint problems such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, RSI and fibromyalgia would be justified in taking a long term sickness absence from work. Likewise more than two out of every five people questioned believed it was legitimate for people with inflammatory bowel disease and digestive conditions such as IBS and Crohn’s disease (45%) and chronic fatigue syndrome or ME (46%) to have time off sick. More than half (56%) were also sympathetic to people with chronic back pain to be signed off work sick, even though the symptoms are invisible to everyone apart from the sufferer. Interestingly, attitudes varied across the UK. London residents were least sympathetic to long term work absence due to chronic illness, with 29% saying none of the above mentioned conditions were sufficient reason to miss work. Yorkshire residents also took a firm stance against absenteeism, with 28% disagreeing with long term absence due to chronic illness. Northern Ireland were more tolerant however, with just 11% of residents against long term absence. Chronic illness ‘not an excuse’ for missing work  in Practice business 25/6/14