Domestic and General is aiming to save over £42,000 this winter by offering flu vaccinations to its employees.
Research from its HR team showed that between 1 September 2010 and 31 March 2011, a total of 400 employees were absent due to cold and flu-related illnesses.
This represented 5,292 lost working hours and accounted for 16% of all absences, with flu being the number one reason given by employees.
The flu jabs, which have been allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis to staff who have not been eligible for free jabs from their GPs, have been communicated using emails and posters in the staff break-out areas.
David Colley, senior HR advisor at Domestic and General, said: “This is the first time we have run an initiative like this, but after a speculative email from a vaccine provider, we decided to do some research to see if there could potentially be any demand for jabs through work.
“We found that, last year, 16% of all reported sickness absence to the call centre was as a result of colds and flu. We had to put together a financial case using this information, to show how beneficial a vaccination programme would be to the business.
“We looked at how much money we could potentially save in the long run, and also conducted a staff survey to find out if employees would be interested. We had 125 responses really quickly, so this determined that we needed to schedule in two full days for a nurse to come in.”
Domestic and General has been focusing on the health and wellbeing of its staff since 2008, when it began running its Wellness Wednesday initiative. The programme includes activities such as a Weight Watchers visit, occupational therapy, Zumba classes, and Nintendo Wii Fit sessions.
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