Employees who refuse to take time off when they are ill put strain on their hearts that can double the risk of coronary problems, according to the occupational health report.

Scientists from University College London examined the fitness and attendance records of 10,000 Whitehall workers over ten years.

The results showed that between 30 and 40 per cent of those who continued to work when ill — even when afflicted by a minor complaint such as the common cold — later suffered twice the rate of heart disease.

Professor Sir Michael Marmot, head of the survey, said that “presenteeism” leads to an increase in coronary heart disease. “So many people force themselves into work when they are not well and have little knowledge of the consequences,” he said. “Far from contributing to their companies or spreading a few germs around the office, they could be hastening their own death.

“Among 30 to 40 per cent of the population, we found that those who were unwell but took no absence at all from work had double the incidence of coronary heart disease over the following years.”

Sir Michael added that the damage caused by working when unwell was not affected by drinking or smoking.

Health specialists said that the study, to be broadcast on The Money Programme on BBC Two on Wednesday, will provoke debate among employers’ organisations over whether staff should be encouraged to take days off when unwell.

Paul Grime, a consultant in occupational medicine at the Royal Free Hospital in London, said: “The findings do seem to further the argument that there is a link between stress suffered by those who force themselves to go to work and coronary heart disease.”

Some business leaders, however, challenged the conclusions of the government-funded report.

A spokesman for the Institute of Directors said: “Stress in the workplace should surely be seen as a separate issue to ‘presenteeism’. That the two are related has yet to be established, despite this study.”

But a spokesman for the CBI said that it would be discussing with members how working through periods of illness affects long-term health. He said: “It is an issue that employers need to take seriously.”

• Roman Catholic churches in America have dropped wine from the Eucharist in an attempt to stop the spread of flu among congregations. The Diocese of Burlington, Vermont, has told priests not to offer the chalice to celebrants until Easter Day on March 27. It has also asked parishioners to avoid the handshakes, hugs and kisses that are often used as a sign of peace during Mass.

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