It's coming to that time of year again, when we all start getting coughs and colds and blaming the winter weather. But should these complaints lead to something more than a sniffle, there could well be high levels of sickness absence in your workplace.
This possibility is something that worries most employers every winter, but should we be promoting the flu jab amongst staff as a way to keep sickness absence levels down?
The seasonal flu jab is offered to 'at risk' groups on the NHS, and pregnant woman, eldery people or those with conditions such as diabetes or severe asthma are recommended to get it done every year to help stay safe. Promotion of this in the workplace may be useful to both employers looking to reduce sickness absence levels and staff in the 'at risk' category' who will want to stay fit and healthy throughout the winter.
However, those not on the NHS can still arrange to have the flu jab done privately, so employers with historically high sickness absence levels in the winter months may find that offering the vaccination to staff as part of a employee health insurance plan may help.
Other ways to help keep sickness absence levels down when it comes to avoiding winter illness, is to encouage employees to come forward when they are feeling unwell, so anyone with seemingly contagious symptoms can be sent home to rest before passing it on to other staff.
How does your company keep absence due to flu and winter illnesses down?
