One in five workers have turned up late on their first day in a new job and others have drunk too much on their first lunch break, a survey has revealed.

Other first-day howlers included forgetting the company's name, turning up at the wrong office or accidentally deleting vital documents.

One in 25 walked out after having a disastrous first day, according to the poll of 5,600 workers by recruitment web site www.reed.co.uk Paul Rapacioli, director of the web site, said: "More experienced colleagues will usually see the funny side and our research shows mix-ups can endear new workers to their colleagues and actually improve performance."