YOU no longer need to be as sick as a dog to take time off work. Companies are allowing employees to work from home or take days off to look after unwell pets.

Some have introduced “pet-ernity” policies giving staff paid leave to care for ill dogs and cats or to take them to the vets.

Other businesses such as Halifax bank and Bank of Scot-land allow staff to take time off work to deal with sick pets so long as they organise cover. Royal Mail will consider allowing “compassionate leave” if a pet dies.

Some firms, including the central London office of Google, the internet search company, allow dogs in the office, realising that workers are reluctant to leave them at home or give them to dog walkers, who can charge up to £25 for a two-hour walk.

Employment experts say that bosses are recognising the importance that people place in their pets, adding that arrangements that allow time off for pet care could make them more attractive as employers.

Research by Petplan, the insurance company, found that 35% of its customers admitted to having taken time off work to look after pets or settle new animals. Half said they took a week off a year to look after their pets, potentially costing British businesses £19m annually.

The Courier Service, a delivery company in Edmonton, north London, has had a “pet-ernity” policy since last July that allows two days’ paid annual leave. “It is awarded if you need to go to the vet or your animal needs an operation, in the same way people might need time off for a baby or to look after a child,” said Denise Fresco, the human resources manager.

Nadir Farrell, 47, who works for Communications Management, a public relations firm in St Albans, Hertfordshire, was allowed two weeks at home to look after Amber, her six-year-old chowchow, who had a knee operation last year: “It was a worrying time for me and helpful to know I could do that.”

However, Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology and health at the Lancaster University management school, advised against seeking time off to care for pets. “When jobs are insecure, telling a boss that you want time off work to look after a pet would not go down well,” he said. oA website, www.dogsblog. com, is being launched today, allowing people to look at strays in 30 dogs’ homes in Britain and increasing the chances of the animals being found a home.

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