The NHS wants to hire employees who are responsible, dependable, and show up to work when scheduled, as the organization loses over one billion pounds per year paid out in sick leave. The interviewers ask this question to evaluate your work attendance in the past year. If you called off work many times in the past year, they might hesitate to offer you the position unless your reasons were excusable.

Focus on giving the exact number of days you missed work and why. If the interviewers deem your absence from work an excused and unavoidable reason to miss work, it will likely not be an issue. If you have many unexcused absences, they may disqualify you as a viable candidate.