Whether your employer should offer you a flu-jab will depend on the kind of work you do. Many health care and residential home staff are offered voluntary immunisation to both protect them and also any patients they come in contact with. Some employers offer it because it is cheaper for them than having staff off ill because of flu, in which case it's up to them whether they offer it to their staff or not.
The vaccine is recommended for elderly people and some people with asthma, diabetes, a heart condition or a reduced immune system. The flu vaccine is best given in early autumn and will only give immunity to those flu strains that are known about that year. It is very effective and has few serious side effects although many people get slight flu-like symptoms shortly after.
In the wake of the 2009 swine flu pandemic, public services unions GMB, Unison and Unite encouraged their care worker members to protect themselves with the H1N1 swine flu vaccine in addition to the seasonal flu immunisation. Those eligible for the voluntary vaccination programme are social care staff employed to provide personal care to children and adults, both in care homes and in the community.
The unions also called on social care employers to ensure that all eligible staff are given suitable and reasonable access to the H1N1 swine flu vaccination during working hours.
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