To think employers can pay for chicken pox vaccines

[coffeeforone]

I have been asked to put forward ideas of possible additional staff benefits to my employer. One that I have thought of is for the employer to pay for chicken pox vaccines (including for their family).

The benefits to both the employees and company are obvious. Less time off for parents benefits both. Kids don't need to suffer chicken pox.

But I'm not sure how well this idea would go down. If your employer offered to pay for the CP vaccine (but it would be a taxable benefit), would you vaccinate your little ones?

YABU, its too much of a niche benefit that is only applicable to parents.

The non parents might benefit indirectly by not needing to provide 'cover' because someone is off because their kid has CP.

I'm sorry but this is not a "real" benefit. If parents are getting something tangible than there should be something non parents also can get.

@Shatner Every day is a school day To be fair it's not exactly something I ask people on a regular basis.

Overall, I think it's a very selfish benefit. Parents in the workplace need to understand that not everyone else is also a parent so these types of benefits are unfair. Flue jabs, gym memberships, cycle to work scheme, ect would be so much better

The non parents might benefit indirectly by not needing to provide 'cover' because someone is off because their kid has CP.

What about everything else that be immunised?
What about if the child has the vaccine but still gets cp?

Another place I worked gave flu jabs. Someone still got flu and was really bad. Until hospitalisation some nasty people where saying a sickie had been pulled.

There's a reason why nhs doesn't do Vaccinations for chicken pox, it's not sure how long will the impact and immunity last but actually having it makes you immune for life, in most cases. So no I won't put that as a suggestion no benefit to me and even i could take it for my child i won't.

I only know a handful of kids who've had the vaccine and they've ended up just as ill, and for the same amount of time said they'd just had chicken pox, so I don't see the point.

There are much better benefits that can be offered to everyone- healthcare scheme where you claim back costs, cycle to work, discounts (I have a perks website through work that offers cash back and discounts), free fruit, flu jabs. I also think things like blood drives are great if they can be organised for a workplace- not really a benefit but a brilliant opportunity!

My DF was a manager and the single most popular perk he introduced was a half day for Christmas shopping. His office was based in a major city and staff commuted in so allowing them a half day meant they could shop in the city without having to make a special trip and commute home as normal.

For many people it’s flexibility over time that is valuable.

Healthier workforce = less sick days...

Not true, people with long term illnesses have fewer days off.

HelloViroids

Are there any vacancies at your place?

OP

Maybe as part of an option, so X amount on vaccinations that can be used for CPor for travel vaccines or flu. Or better still can be transferred to something else. Maybe a £150 Boots voucher? Possibly limited to health / well being products so could pay for glasses, vaccines, pregnancy tests, first aid kit etc.

I think you are on to a good idea. The world health organisation advises countries give free chicken pox vaccinations to their populations and America and Australia do do this...but the UK doesn't. So I do see this as something different to the other diseases. My children have had the vaccination.
I used to work for a company where they did free flu vaccinations at work plus lots of free fruit to improve vit C in winter.

Good idea!
Plus flu jabs free for those not nhs eligible?
Things like a workplace not minding taking parcels in makes a big difference to us.
Free car wash in the work car park every so often?!

Previous firm had discounted weekly massages you could book and also they had a private GP across the road you could access for appointments that they paid for (any treatment and medicaion was at your own cost). Saved staff taking time off for doctors appointments and convenient - then again it was a law firm doing this so it made sense for them and they could afford to do it.

My current employer just moved to a new rewards company and it finally offeres discount on my local gym! So happy about that.

I agree with other postsers about getting more offers/discounts with retailers, travel etc.

The nhs doesn’t always get it right

It's totally unnecessary and the worries about the MMR vaccine have been completely debunked by science

And the point I made above is illustrated beautifully.

The NHS doesn't vaccinate because it increases the risk of shingles in elderly people who haven't had the shingles vaccine

Yes II am well aware of that. Hence why I said there is a good reason for the NHS not vaccinating (and clearly the cost benefit analysis in relation to treating the few children who have nasty side effects from CP doesn't stack up).

No, I wouldn't. I sought advice from my GP on the CP vaccine when it was going round nursery and I was due to have a major operation. It would have been a particularly bad time for the DC to get it.
He advised against it, as it wears off, leaving many people exposed to contracting it when they are older which can be worse.

He said this was particularly important for DD as it risked he contracting it when pregnant. Far better for them to have CP 'naturally', when they are young and develop a life long immunity.

The Christmas shopping half day (staggered, presumably, not a whole office close-down) sounds really good. As does the birthday off one.

When looking at things like health insurance, worth checking that those employees with pre-existing conditions can also access them (employers contribution being higher, so cost to employee much the same?)

And I'd say again - private GP. I think it would be by far the most useful health benefit, even more than private healthcare. As I said on another thread, it's all very well having private health cover but if you can't get access to a GP for weeks on end, there's no point because the GP is the gatekeeper. If you can see a GP at or via work, that helps a lot. My DH has a GP at work (although he even has to wait a few days to see them).

I can do a video appointment via my health insurance twice a year but haven't had to use it so far.

You'd be far better off funding separate Measles, mumps and rubella vaxes . I paid a fortune for my two to get those.

That would be an incredibly niche benefit given the mumps vaccine isn’t manufactured anywhere in the world.

There’s a lot of misinformation on this thread about the CP vaccine which leaves out important words on length of effectiveness like ‘at least’ (based on how long the current vax schedule had been in place in other countries) and the reasons it isn’t in place here (the shingles risk hypothesis hasn’t really held true in reality, etc). It’s worth reading the JCVI papers on their recommendations which are a lot more balanced and nuanced, and it’s a great deal more to do with Wakefield than you’d think.

I paid to vaccinate my DS for chickenpox partly so he didn't have to go through it as a little but also because it would be hard to take so much time off work. I would have appreciated work paying for it! Less useful for adults as most have immunity.

I also thought that the chickenpox vaccine hadn't been around long enough to know that it would only last 15 years?

Benefits I like that we get:

Flex working
Working from home
Flu vaccine
Eye tests and glasses subsidy
Opportunity to buy additional leave
Decent six pay
Decent dependants leave policy
Free confidential employee support program
Decent mileage return
Additional leave to cover Christmas closure

Chicken pox vac would not excite me!

It would benefit those adults who never had it. I know the vast majority have had it, but for those who haven't, it really would benefit them. CP is mostly much worse in adults. My DH and BIL both had it as adults and were very ill with it.

The problem is, that these adults generally don't have CP on their radar, so probably wouldn't see the need of it until they caught it.

I don't understand why people are objecting to the principle of a benefit that could only be used by parents - isn't that also true of, for instance, childcare vouchers?

I agree with others that this is too niche a thing to really make much impact, though. We're exactly the demographic it would be for - we're planning to get DS a private chickenpox vaccine in the next few months - and if my employer offered this I'd think 'ooh, that's lucky/nice!' but it wouldn't factor into a decision to change employers, so I can't imagine it helping you with recruitment in the way that, say, flexible hours or private healthcare would. Nor can I imagine it being such a boon that it would create ongoing goodwill/loyalty in the way that a gym membership or something like that that you use on a regular or ongoing basis might.

I don't think it's a bad idea, but unless you have an infinite budget I think there has to be better ways to spend that money.

FWIW - I've had chicken pox as a child. I also had shingles a few years ago (in my 30s). Someone upthread mentioned that shingles was a risk to people who'd not had chicken pox... I wish. It was horrible!

I would definitely suggest the best sickness absence policy possible, not just for staff but for children too. No-one likes being home with sick kids. And while some people may say it's an individual choice to have them, those children will be the ones paying taxes, working in hospitals etc in 30, 50 years, when today's workforce are retired and wanting to draw their pensions. If no-one had any kids we'd all be screwed.

Do companies really offer all these extra benefits now? I've been self employed for a loooong time... I worked for an international flooring manufacturer in our UK head office 20 years ago in a salaried role. They provided parking on site as we were out of town and they had the room (big factory over two sites), paid me a salary and I worked set hours, with annual holiday entitlement. That was it. I had a nice boss who was flexible over doctors appointments and the like, but that was entirely at his discretion and I made up my time elsewhere. Other than that, there were no enticements of any kind, just work and pay. Do people now choose jobs based on what kinds of "sweeteners" they're given?

Brilliant idea. Would love it. Lots of countries already included the CP vacation in their childhood boosters, we don't as we already have such an issue with getting all children to have the vaccines so the most dangerous are given priority it's also an expense issue nothing to do with the safety or effectiveness. Great idea.