Companies trying to improve employee absence management could have more problems to contend with during school holiday periods, research suggests.

In a Vouchercloud survey of more than 1,600 working parents, one in six (16 per cent) respondents said they would call in sick to look after their children during the autumn half-term break.

More than a third (37 per cent) of these said they did not have enough holiday left to cover half-term, while over a quarter (29 per cent) said it was worth pretending to be ill to spend some time with their children.

Of the parents who were planning to 'pull a sickie' during the school break, 37 per cent were only aiming to take one day off and 33 per cent were set to take two or three days.

A quarter (26 per cent) admitted that they would fake illness to get the whole week off.

Other findings of the Vouchercloud survey indicated that more than a quarter (27 per cent) of working parents were planning to use a nursery or some other sort of paid childcare during the half-term holiday.

A similar proportion had booked annual leave to cover the period, while nine per cent were intending to take their children to work with them.

Vouchercloud spokesman Matthew Wood pointed out that childcare costs can reach "eye watering" levels, so it is not surprising to see parents seeking out alternative options.

"Calling in sick isn't ideal, but if [parents] have more than one child it can cost a small fortune to cover the school holidays," he added.

"With school holidays generally longer than allocated holidays for the average job, childcare during this period is a problem that many parents can relate to."

The Trades Union Congress recently appealed to employers to acknowledge the fact that older parents also have childcare commitments, and to be sympathetic to requests for flexible working and annual leave from these employees.