Hangovers cost British businesses an estimated £2.8bn as companies lose out on an estimated 29m days from workers throwing sickies - and throwing up.

The research from employment outfit Reed found that ten million working days are lost each year as workers fail to turn up to work because of a hangover. An extra 19m days a year are wiped out in lost productivity by staff pitching up for work worse for wear and not firing on all cylinders.

These numbers - which are enough to give anyone a headache - come as half of workers reckon that the introduction of 24-hour pub openings next year could lead to even more people suffering the effects of too much booze.

Elsewhere, it seems UK bosses are a miserable bunch with half of them never making a cup of coffee for their staff. According to Macmillan Cancer Relief, which is plugging its annual "World's Biggest Coffee Morning for Macmillan" fundraiser, bosses need to learn to stick the kettle on every now and again. Said Peter Cardy, chief executive of Macmillan: "We want bosses across the UK to find the way to their staff kitchen by 24 September, so they can take part in the World's Biggest Coffee Morning for Macmillan."

Macmillan aso found that UK workers are obsessive about their coffee mugs at work, with four in ten refusing to use one belonging to anyone else, while one in ten will email their colleagues if their favourite mug goes missing. ®

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