Two out of three workers polled in Britain said they had dragged themselves into work despite being too ill to do the job.

Having to go to work meant two in five had put off going to see the doctor while one-fifth had postponed a scheduled hospital appointment.

New research by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) reveals the main reason why people put their job before their health was they felt they had too much work to do to be able to take time off.

The charity warns that businesses should make greater efforts to keep their staff healthy – not least because it helps cut costs.

Sickness absence costs UK businesses an estimated £29 billion a year.

But more than three quarters of companies with employee wellness programmes reaped the rewards with less sickness absence, while one-third had reduced staff turnover.

The BHF polled over 1300 UK workers and found more than 71 per cent had gone to work despite being too unwell to do their jobs.