Opt to skip work to translate Germinal (8)
I believe the answer is:
malinger
'opt to skip work' is the definition.
(to malinger is to fake illness to avoid work)
'translate germinal' is the wordplay.
'translate' indicates an anagram (I've seen this in other clues).
'germinal' is an anagram of 'MALINGER'.
'to' is the link.
(Other definitions for malinger that I've seen before include "shirk responsibilities" , "skive off school, maybe" , "Germinal (anag.)" , "Feign sickness to avoid work." , "Pretend to be ill to avoid work" .)