Can't come to work today - The dog ate my trousers

It may be a phantom tummy bug that only strikes the day after a bank holiday, or a funeral of a long lost relative that just happens to be on the same day as a crucial England match. There are some excuses for taking the day off that are simply code for 'I had better things to do'.

But can bosses really do anything about it?

"Predictable absences are a huge problem for some companies," comments Chris Hartley, Business Development Director at Park Retail, "and company culture has a big role to play in whether or not employees think it's acceptable to take these cheeky extra days off."

"Sometimes, it can be because they don't expect any consequences beyond the odd sarcastic remarks and, in larger organisations, people often assume their absence will go largely unnoticed.

"Unfortunately, in many work environments, people justify taking these additional days of leave with the 'won't be any better thought of' excuse. They simply don't feel valued and, as a result, reward themselves with an unauthorised absence to compensate for an employer they feel doesn't care for them."

While they can't offer an instant antidote to just-fancied-a-day-off, motivational schemes are effective in ensuring that staff believe it will be beneficial to stick to their leave entitlement and only take time off sick if they're genuinely ill.

So how can a motivational scheme work to reduce unauthorised absences? First of all it needs to be fair and all staff should start with a clean slate when the scheme begins, no matter what their record has been in the past.

It's also advisable to offer the same choice and level of rewards across all levels of seniority in the company. Some organisations make the mistake of leaving senior colleagues out of the scheme, in the belief that their status and salary will prevent them from taking recreational 'extra' days off. In fact, being left out of a reward scheme is tantamount to being told you're taken for granted, and even employees that are well rewarded in their pay check will resent that message.

The second golden rule is to offer choice. A reward that might make one employee think it's worthwhile keeping a clean attendance record, could leave another thinking 'so what?', defeating the object of introducing the incentive scheme in the first place.

Chris continues: "Some companies offer units of time off as incentives alongside gift vouchers such as those offered by Love2Reward. Obviously, time off is not practical in all working environments and needs to be handled with care so that whole teams of people don't end up taking their reward time simultaneously or at the drop of a hat. However self-select prize schemes such as time out of the office and versatile gift voucher schemes can appeal ? and show results ? across the team."

Finally, the rewards need to be achievable. Chris adds: "There's no point having a reward scheme if everyone knows they've got no chance of ever receiving any of the rewards. The trick is to strike a balance so that rewards are only handed out to those who really deserve them, but act as a motivator by being accessible to all."