Offering flu jabs through the workplace could save employers as much as £87 a year per employee, research has suggested.
The analysis by private flu vaccinations provider Doctorcall has argued this saving more than offsets the cost of providing private flu jabs.
Doctorcall looked at figures from the Office for National Statistics which showed that the average worker loses 5.7 work days per year because of illness.
Minor illnesses such as coughs, colds, flu, and gastrointestinal issues account for 29.3% of these lost days, equating to 1.67 days lost per year per employee.
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Flu is responsible for roughly 20% of minor illness cases, equating to approximately 0.33 days lost per worker annually.
The average cost of a day of absence in the private sector is £522. Therefore, the cost of flu-related absenteeism can be estimated at £174 per employee per year, it calculated.
The flu vaccine’s effectiveness ranges from 40-60%, so taking that as a 50% effectiveness rate, this translates to an average saving of £87 per employee annually through workplace flu vaccination, it added.
Moreover, pneumonia cases, which often begin with flu, result in an average of 14 days of sick leave per occurrence, costing businesses £7,308 per case. Pneumonia not only causes significant absenteeism but also poses severe health risks with a high mortality rate.
“Implementing a workplace vaccination programme is a cost-effective strategy that benefits both employers and employees,” said Dr Charles Levinson, Doctorcall medical director.
“These findings demonstrate the high value provided by a workplace flu vaccination programme – more and more companies are using our service, and these findings show that they are making a sound investment which benefits both the company and the employee.”
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