It’s our first few weeks back at work after the festive break, and let’s be honest, you’d be lying if calling in sick one day hadn’t crossed your mind by now, especially when the early-morning alarm was ringing in your ears.
If that’s you, don’t worry as new research has suggested that regionally, the North West ranks in fourth place for likeliness to call in sick to work compared to anywhere else in the country.
The study from personal injury experts claims.co.uk analysed the Office of National Statistics (ONS) sickness absence data from 2018 to 2022, and they identified a range of demographics – which recorded where, when, and why Brits are prone to ‘pulling a sickie’.
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New survey finds Northerners are the most likely to ‘pull a sickie’ at work / Credit: Isabella Fisher (via Unsplash) | Wikimedia Commons
Every year, the UK workforce loses on average 146.6 million days due to sickness, which equates to approximately 4.5 days per worker, or almost a full working week, and in January especially, employers pay particular attention to absences, as workers often contend with flu season, as well as post-holiday blues, and holiday-related illnesses.
Understandably, there’s no way to record how many of these requests were genuine or whether they just fancied hitting snooze for an extra three hours on a Monday morning after a heavy weekend… but hey, we’ve all been there, right?
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In our corner of the country, people in the North West are losing a combined 16.5 million working days a year, which equates to a slightly above-average 4.7 working days per person.
Taking the top spot is the North East, with 5.1 days lost annually, while the the East Midlands finished in a close second with 4.9 days off per year, and then just marginally-ahead of the North West in third place was Yorkshire and Humberside on 4.8 days lost.
The North West has placed four on the list of UK regions / Credit: Jose Losada (via Unsplash)
When we break down the stats, there’s some interesting variables that people might not expect.
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You’d think the age group most likely to ring in sick would be the youngest, but it turns out that’s not the case, as the young’uns are only losing an estimated 10.2 million days per year – which is 65.2% lower than the average, and instead, with an average of 56.3 million total days lost per year, it’s the 50 to 64-year-olds who come out on top.
The simple hack that can save healthcare workers and teachers money on their holidays
Danny Jones
With cost-of-living pressure ever-present in the background of most everyday lives, finding some spare pennies for a getaway feels more difficult than ever, and if there’s anyone who deserves discounts on a holiday, it’s healthcare workers.
That’s why, when we became aware of the simple hack that can save those working in healthcare services money on holidays, we thought we’d help spread the word.
We’re sure lots of you working within the sector already know plenty about this booking strategy, but for anyone who doesn’t, how do you fancy saving up to half a grand on your next jolly?
In fact, even those working in education can cut their costs, too.
With searches for ‘holiday voucher code’ up by 73% on Google, and even the likes of TikTok seeing ‘money saving tips’ up by 45%, travel agency TUI have decided to team up with the Health Service Discounts platform for 2026.
Providing those who work for the NHS with a ‘Holidays for Heroes’ (HfH) access code on various popular peak-season trips, this exclusive discount can be added on top of all other seasonal TUI deals, including the company’s ‘First Choice’ package holidays.
With the HfH code alone guaranteeing workers an extra £100 off their bookings, play your cards right, and you could get up to £500 in total discounts overall.
How to access the healthcare ‘Holidays for Heroes’ deal
Separate from standard Blue Light card savings, here’s how it works, and don’t worry, it’s all very simple:
As mentioned, education workers can also benefit from similar money off, with an extra £50 per person through the TUI x Discounts for Teachers partnership, as well.
Ella Foden-Lynch, Partnerships Manager for TUI, said in a statement: “Getting away is absolutely vital for wellbeing, especially for those working in high-stress healthcare and education roles.
“With the cost-of-living crisis still putting a strain on household budgets, we know how hard it is to stretch your pay to cover a much-needed family break. By unlocking these exclusive TUI deals, we hope to give our key workers the realistic recovery time they deserve without the financial worry.”
So, for those of you healthcare heroes and teachers looking for a well-deserved break, we urge you to find an affordable holiday that suits you very soon. With cheaper airport pints also inbound later this year, here’s hoping you save even more spends for when you’re away.
The new James Bond game is full of Easter eggs – including a nod to Manchester United
Danny Jones
Even if you’re not a big gamer, you may have seen that a rather popular new James Bond game recently dropped: 007 First Light – and if you’ve played it yourself, you will have no doubt come across many Easter eggs and references throughout, including one to Manchester United.
As we happen to be currently playing it for ourselves, we’ll admit that hearing any mention of our hometown or even just quintessentially UK nods that any Brit would enjoy was likely to result in putting a grin on our faces.
That being said, apart from whenever the next FIFA—sorry, EA Sports FC drops, we weren’t expecting to hear Man United brought up in one of the biggest video games of the year.
In fact, we’re going to go out on a limb and say that nobody has this on their 2026 bingo card.
Credit: @CaptPierce93 via r/Manchester (screenshots shared to Reddit)
It may just be a slightly tongue-in-cheek throwaway line in a cutscene, but it’s still been enjoyed by many around the world.
As player ‘CaptPierce93’ writes in his caption of his Reddit post sharing the snippet: “The game has a good splash of product placements that don’t get overwhelming; an earlier portion of the game even has radio chatter of a Manchester City and Liverpool match as well.”
He’s right as well: we’ve come across lots of different little interesting nuggets and cameos during our limited playtime, and it’s safe to say we’re looking forward to seeing what else we can spot.
While any Mancunian or true, dyed-in-the-wool United fan will no doubt squirm a little at the use of ‘Man U‘ (we’re thinking like when people ‘Manny’), it’s still pretty cool nonetheless.
You can see the specific scene in full down below.
Such a surreal few seconds.
There’s something very satisfying about hearing ‘Greenway’ – played by recognisable British actor Lennie James (Snatch, The Walking Dead, Blade Runner 2049) – utter the words “Stretford End”.
And before you ask, no, he isn’t a Red: the South Londoner is a Spurs fan and is also said to have a soft spot for Valencia, as it happens.
We’re pretty sure there aren’t any other Manc references to keep your eye out for, but we’ll let you know if we stumble upon more as we continue playing the game.
There’s something about videogame Easter eggs, in-jokes and refs like these that we never tire of; you just never know what little tidbits are going to inspire someone…
Harry Quick -
11th January 2024 
