Around 131 million working days were lost due to sick leave in 2013, with musculoskeletal conditions the biggest single cause.

New official data shows that sick days have declined dramatically in the last 10 years. In 1993, 178 million days were lost.

Meanwhile, the average number of days off per worker, per year has fallen to 4.4 days, down from 7.2 days a decade ago.

Musculoskeletal conditions, such as back and neck pain, were the main cause of absenteeism, followed by minor illnesses such as coughs and colds, accounting for 27 million days off.

Third on the list were stress, anxiety and depression; responsible for 15 million lost working days.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) said the figures proved that the UK did not have a “sickie culture”.

"The real health threat we face is the growing culture of presenteeism - where unwell staff are pressurised into coming work by their bosses,” said TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady.

Hours lost to sickness were significantly fewer in the private sector than in the public sector, accounting for 1.8 per cent versus 2.9 per cent of total working time respectively.