19 mejores excusas para dejar el trabajo inmediatamente

Sometimes, you just need to miss work without taking your vacation days. But you’re not ill and you don’t have a valid reason to do so. The worst part is that it’s all happening at the last minute.

No need to worry about this any more because I’ve got you covered. Con estas excusas para no ir a trabajar siempre lo conseguirás.

19 excusas para faltar al trabajo

Here is a list of the best excuses you’ll find! And the best part is that each one of them is believable.

1. Fiebre

Getting a sudden fever will always get you off work. However, now, during COVID-19, it’s an even more believable excuse. I mean, the last thing your boss would want is for you to come to the office if there’s the slightest chance that this fever is one of the first signs you’ve caught the virus.

Another upside of this excuse is that you’re coming off as a responsible employee and, more importantly, a responsible citizen. You’re taking your coworkers and the entire company into consideration.

No obstante, Puede que tu jefe te pida que te hagas la prueba del COVID antes de volver al trabajo. Si es así, hazte la prueba. Of course, it will be negative, but that isn’t evidence enough that you didn’t have a fever.

2. Cita médica

One of the best excuses to get out of work is to say that you have a medical appointment. You can’t reschedule it, and you’ve been waiting to see this doctor for weeks now.

Don’t go into too many details but have a story ready if your boss asks you what’s wrong and why you’re seeing a doctor. Por supuesto, siempre puedes decirles que quieres quedarte las cosas para ti, pero eso sonaría un poco sospechoso.

Besides, your boss might not be asking you these questions to see if your story checks out— maybe they’re just worried about your health.

The only bad thing about medical appointments is that you might be required to just take half of the day off and return to work after your appointment. Also, you scheduled it before, so you can’t use it as an excuse to skip work on short notice.

3. 3. Intoxicación alimentaria

As careful as you are about your eating habits, food poisoning just happens sometimes, and you can’t avoid it. So, technically, it’s not your fault you’ve called in sick at the last minute— you’ve just gotten the symptoms, and there is nothing you can do about it.

Once again, the best policy is not to go into details when you notify your company that you’ll take a sick day. It will be enough to tell them that you’re having stomach problems and that you must have eaten something bad.

However, come up with a “just in case” plan: what if one of your team members asks you what you have eaten? You don’t want to get your tongue twisted, so have an answer ready!

Don’t give them a chance to ask for a doctor’s note. Instead, just say that you’ll get some rest and that you’ll go to the doctor’s office if you’re still not feeling better the next day.

Of course, by tomorrow, you’ll suddenly be as good as new, so there will be no need to see the doctor at all.

4. Muerte de un ser querido

Okay, I’ll be honest with you: this is probably one of the worst excuses to get out of work. Don’t get me wrong— I’m not saying it won’t work out.

Al contrario, sin duda lo hará. Sin embargo, va en contra de tu brújula moral. Also, in some cultures, it’s considered a sign of bad luck— they think you will actually summon the death of this particular family member you’ve falsely buried.

Quiero decir, ¿quién miente sobre su fallecimiento de un ser querido? That’s right, only a desperate person. Therefore, if you fall under this category and really have no other option, what can I say besides go for it?

It will be enough to call your boss and to tell them that your loved one has passed away: I’m sure they won’t ask you any unnecessary questions.

5. Loved one’s illness

Let’s continue using family members to skip work. The same way you can say someone dear to you has passed away, you can also skip work by lying that they’re ill.

Por supuesto, nobody will ask for a doctor’s note in this case. It’s a private matter, and your boss can’t ask for your family member’s medical history— they’re not the company’s employees.

The only thing you need to be careful about is to make the illness as serious as possible. I know that this sounds a bit harsh, but you’ll get more days off if you say that your close family member is dying than you will if you say they have a fever.

6. Emergencia familiar

When you pronounce the words “emergency in the family”, nobody in their right mind will ask you any additional questions. And that’s exactly how you want things to be.

Don’t go into too many details, and don’t explain yourself. I mean, you have the right to privacy, and your employee definitely doesn’t need to know what’s going on in your family.

Besides, if you do too much explaining, you’ll only look suspicious— who has the time for that when there is something urgent happening in their home?

Just be careful about one thing: you can’t have a family emergency too often.

7. Muerte de un animal de compañía

Para la mayoría de las personas, los animales de compañía son su familia. Por eso, la muerte de una mascota es una buena excusa para tomarse un día libre.

But there is a trick here as well. What if you’re close with your boss or team members? I mean, you hang out with some of them in your free time, and maybe they’re even visiting you at home.

Isn’t it weird that you never mentioned having a dog? Don’t get me started with the fact that they didn’t see it in person or in photos.

I assume these people follow you on social media. And who doesn’t post photos of their pets on their accounts?

On the other hand, if you don’t hang out with them ever, this is a valid reason to get out of work.

8. Problemas con el coche

Te dirigías al trabajo y tu coche se averió. No hay mucho que puedas hacer excepto esperar a una grúa en medio de la carretera.

What else can you do? You can’t leave your car unattended and run your way to work, right?

The only acceptable way to use this excuse is to let your company know what happened at the last minute. If you call and say that you’re having car trouble the day before and that you can’t come to work tomorrow, they’ll just tell you to use a different form of transportation.

9. Emergencia en el hogar

Una emergencia doméstica es muy distinta de una emergencia familiar. Una emergencia doméstica es cuando se produce un incendio en tu casa o piso, o se rompen las tuberías de agua y todo queda bajo el agua.

Esta es una de las razones legítimas para volver pronto a casa del trabajo. Finge una llamada telefónica y di que tus vecinos te llaman porque hay una fuga en tu piso.

After all, who will check up on that? Even if they wanted to, they couldn’t! What will your company do— ask for a receipt from a plumbing company?

O simplemente puedes decir que va a venir un manitas a tu casa y que tienes que irte cuanto antes.

10. Servicio de jurado

Te prometo una cosa: ésta no es una de las excusas más comunes para faltar al trabajo. Sin embargo, ¡definitivamente es una excusa válida!

You can’t skip jury duty, right? The only possible problem here is that your company might ask for some kind of proof that you were actually called to the jury.

Also, this is not something that just came up. You can’t just call and tell them that you won’t come to work today because you must have known about jury duty some time ago.

11. Fiesta religiosa

Una fiesta religiosa siempre es una buena excusa para faltar al trabajo. Sólo hay una condición para que sea una razón legítima para tomarse un día libre: tus compañeros de trabajo no deben saber nada de tu vida.

Or at least they shouldn’t be informed about your personal details, such as your religion. If this condition checks out, you’re good to go.

The best part about this is that you don’t actually have to explain anything. You can literally make up a religious holiday, and your boss can’t legally say anything about it— if they do, just mention your religious liberties.

Who knows, maybe you’re just a part of an ancient religion they’ve never heard of.

12. Día de la salud mental

A veces, la sinceridad es la mejor política. Todo empresario entenderá que, de vez en cuando, necesitas tiempo para ti y te concederá un día personal, sin hacer preguntas.

You feel like you’re about to burn out and you just need one entire day to relax from work – really relax and focus on your mental well-being.

There is no doctor’s appointment, your babysitter or childcare didn’t cancel on you at the last minute and you’re not physically ill— you’re just not feeling well.

If your company policy is to give you a day off in such conditions, you don’t have to make up other excuses; it will be enough to send them an email or a Slack message to notify your boss you’re taking a mental health day.

But what if they don’t understand you and ask you to come to work? What if they don’t take mental health as seriously as physical health? Well, in that case, you’ll know what you’ll do in the future: sadly, you’ll have no other choice but to lie.

13. 13. Donación de sangre

In many countries, when you donate blood, you’re legally allowed to take a sick day, even if you’re feeling great. That is like a reward for your good deed.

But if that’s not your company’s policy, tell them that you’ve donated blood and that you’re not feeling very well. Therefore, you need a day off.

Just remember one thing: no medical institution will allow you to donate blood whenever you feel like it. There must be two or three months in between donations, so have that in mind if you’re using this as one of the excuses to get out of work.

At the end of the day, if you’re healthy, why wouldn’t you actually do it? You’ll get a day off, and you’ll help save someone’s life— it looks like a win-win situation to me!

14. Loved one’s wedding

Out of all the things you might miss, a loved one’s wedding day is not it. It doesn’t matter if it’s your family member or a close friend getting married— it’s the person you deeply care about, and you simply have to attend.

Most weddings take place on weekends, but it’s not against the law to get married on a weekday. The best day to make up for a wedding is definitely Friday.

Además de ser un motivo habitual para salir del trabajo, también le ofrece un fin de semana largo para descansar un poco o terminar sus recados.

What if your friends at work ask for photos? Just say that taking pictures was forbidden and that you’ll show the photos once you get the official ones. Before you know it, they’ll forget they ever asked.

15. Un nuevo bebé

Nunca se sabe con certeza cuándo va a venir al mundo un recién nacido, a menos que haya una cesárea programada de antemano. Precisamente por eso es una de las excusas más válidas para faltar al trabajo con poca antelación o para salir del trabajo antes de tiempo.

Quiero decir.., you’ve just been informed that your close friend, a sibling, or someone else you care for deeply just had a baby, and you simply must go and see them or even take them home from the hospital.

Just don’t forget that you’ve made this baby up. The last thing you want is your coworker asking you about your imaginary nephew months from now, and you ask them what they’re talking about!

16. Accidente de coche

When you call work and tell them that you’re having car troubles, it means that your car broke down. However, there is a more serious scenario to use if you really want your boss to believe you: just tell them that you’ve been in a car accident.

The important thing here is not to make up any serious injuries. If you do, you’ll have to take more sick days, and you’ll need a doctor’s note for that.

Even though I advised you not to go into too many details when coming up with excuses to get out of work. Your boss probably won’t ask too many questions now but trust me, when you come back to work, all of your coworkers will probably want to know more about this accident.

Compruebe los hechos y responda con prontitud a las preguntas sobre quién era el conductor y si hay heridos.

17. Dolor de cabeza

You don’t need a special diagnosis for this sick day. We all have headaches from time to time, but in your case, no pill is working for you, and you simply must call in sick.

The best part is that nobody will ask for proof of this when you return to work. You’ve just had a headache and going to the doctor’s office hasn’t even crossed your mind.

Además, no tiene nada de especial tomarse un día por enfermedad a causa del dolor de cabeza.

18. You’ve been robbed

You were a victim of a terrible robbery. Well, at least, that’s what your boss will think when you pay him a call.

Everything was stolen from you, including both your phone and your wallet. It’s practically impossible for you to come to work after the stress you’ve been through.

This is also an amazing excuse if you forgot to let your employee know that you won’t be coming in. Your phone, including all of your passwords, was stolen, and you had no way of contacting them.

19. Dolor de espalda

If you have chronic back pain, it’s an excuse you can use all the time to stay off work— as long as you’re not exaggerating. This is a believable reason not to come into the office, but it doesn’t mean that you should send a sick day email every other week.

If you do so, your boss is likely to ask for a doctor’s note.

¿Cómo salir del trabajo?

Cuando pienses faltar al trabajo, no sólo debes comunicárselo a tu jefe. Sería educado que enviaras también un mensaje de Slack o un correo electrónico a los miembros de tu equipo.

Ten en cuenta que una de estas personas tendrá que asumir tu carga de trabajo por hoy, así que estaría bien mantenerla informada aunque sólo sea eso.

Another important thing you must not forget about is rescheduling your meetings. Even though you’re sick, you should always be as professional as possible.

Por supuesto, don’t use the same excuse too often. Keep track of your lies unless you want to bury the same family member more than once.

Finally, get off social media for the day! You can’t expect your company to believe your lies if someone catches you posting new selfies on the beach. Remember: these are not your vacation days!

In the end, here’s a piece of career advice: whatever you do, never admit that you’re going for a job interview, or meeting up with a recruiter for a new position. The company will get all offended about it, and they probably won’t grant you a day off.

What’s a good call out excuse?

A great excuse is to check out your background story and not too many details. You can’t say that you have a sick child if everyone in the office knows you have no kids. That’s a rookie mistake and a textbook example of a bad excuse that will make you look like a fool.

At the same time, if you give out too many details, you’ll get trapped in your own web of lies, and you’ll look suspicious. For a good excuse, you have to be as concrete and brief as possible.

Another important thing is not to forget what you lied about. Let’s say that you told your boss you have severe back pain. Don’t say that your back is perfectly fine a few months from now while casually speaking to a coworker.

¿Cómo salgo inmediatamente del trabajo?

La mejor manera de salir del trabajo de inmediato es escenificar una llamada falsa. You’re in the middle of work, and suddenly, a family member is calling you to come ASAP.

When your boss sees this, they won’t ask any additional questions. Even if te odian a muerte, they’ll let you leave and wish you good luck.

Para terminar:

Let’s get one thing clear: Utilizar estas excusas para faltar al trabajo sólo es aceptable en casos de emergencia y si tienes un jefe poco razonable.

Por otra parte, si su el jefe se preocupa por ti y entiende que simplemente tienes que faltar al trabajo de vez en cuando, no hay ninguna necesidad de mentir.

Here’s another important warning: don’t use these excuses too often. Otherwise, you’ll be on a job search before you know it because they’ll realize what you’re doing!