Employers increasingly offering flu shots at work

More and more Dutch companies are giving their staff the option to get a flu shot at work. Employers want to minimize sick leave this winter. Medical experts warned that the flu epidemic might be extra intense after 18 months of social distancing, BNR reports after speaking with the Dutch Influenza Foundation and various businesses.

Ted van Essen of the Dutch Influenza Foundation stressed that getting injections must always be a decision an employee makes for themselves. But he understands why employers are offering the flu shot at work. A sick person costs an average of 250 euros and those who get the flu are out four about 14 days, he said to the broadcaster.

According to Van Essen, it will mainly be small healthcare companies that want to give the flu shot for understandable reasons. "Vaccination is doubly important there," he said. But it also makes sense for smaller companies in other sectors, where some indispensable employees are crucial for carrying out specific processes.