Swine Flu Skivers Costing Companies

Thousands of healthy workers are thought to have taken advantage of official guidelines on the pandemic to extend their summer holidays.

By simply phoning the NHS swine flu hotline or visiting its website, sneaky workers can get themselves a course of antiviral medicine and do not need a sick note from their GP for the first seven days’ absence – don’t anyone reading this get any ideas.

And to make matters worse, the Government is considering doubling this period to a fortnight, which companies fear could make the situation worse and cost them millions of pounds in lost productivity at a time when they are struggling with the effects of the recession.

There are also predictions that more healthy workers will be tempted to call in sick as the weather improves over the next week, after the wettest July on record.

The Employment Law Advisory Service, which provides legal advice to companies on personnel problems, disclosed yesterday that it had begun receiving calls from concerned managers as soon as the self-diagnosis website was set up last month.

It has since heard from more than 1,000 companies that believe staff have exploited concern about the spread of the H1N1 virus to take an extra week off. It believes that the Department of Health’s guidance risks creating a “skiver’s charter”.

Peter Mooney, the service’s head of consultancy, said: “Managers feel that some staff are simply taking advantage of concerns about the transmission of swine flu to take an extra few days off work. Because the emphasis has been on not going to your local GP but using websites to assess the infection and the risk to others, those who stay at home are not going to need a doctor’s note or have too many people calling on them to see how they feel.

“Based on the volume, and the nature, of calls we have been taking, the number of deliberate false cases of the condition is having a significant impact on workplaces across the country — something bosses are keen to tackle.”

The flu service website and phone line handed out over 150,000 doses of Tamiflu in its first week. However, there is evidence that only about one in four recipients actually has the H1N1 virus.

GPs have said that they are being inundated with calls from patients claiming to have swine flu and requesting a note to sign them off work for longer than a week. Many are concerned that they are being asked to certify that people are ill without having seen them, meaning shirkers could take advantage.

Recent figures suggest the average worker takes 7.4 days off sick a year at a total cost of £17.3 billion to the economy, so the impact of staff taking another fortnight off for self-diagnosed swine flu could cripple some small businesses.

I have also read an article in a newspaper recently about a student Emily Morgan who was sacked from the National Pandemic Flu Service call centre for having swine flu - peculiar I know. After feeling ill during her first shift at her holiday job, the 21-year-old was later diagnosed with the H1N1 virus and prescribed Tamiflu.

She phoned in sick the next day, but when she returned to the Plymouth office 10 days later Miss Morgan said she was told she had lost her job. The international business student said: "It's kind of ironic. I feel I would have been better at the job now because I'd know what people were going through.

Miss Morgan said: "I rang them several times and they were well aware I had swine flu, and kept telling me to get well soon. I couldn't believe it when I turned up and I was told to hand in my security pass.”

Miss Morgan had been employed through recruitment agency Reed and when contacted by the press their response was, "There are procedures to follow in cases of absenteeism."

In terms of the ‘swine flu skivers’, I personally think it’s like anything, there are always people out there who will take advantage of a loop hole or opportunity to benefit themselves – I don’t think it’s crime of the century but if it does have a detrimental effect on a business then I suppose they will have to deal with it legally and appropriately.

For all genuine swine flu sufferers – Get Well Soon x

Scottish Exam Results Out Today

Nearly 160,000 school pupils across Scotland are receiving their examination results today.

The BBC reported that pass rates at both Higher and Standard Grade level have increased overall, while the numbers receiving the highest grades have also gone up – good news!

Gone are the days when everyone was stuck waiting patiently for the sound of the postman’s steps (I was one of them), as nearly 30,000 students will receive their grades by e-mail or text message; I can see this number increasing year on year.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) said the pass rate for those sitting Highers rose 0.8 percentage point to 74.2%. For Standard Grade pupils, 98.5% received a pass, up from 98% in 2008.

The total number of exams being sat overall was down by 8,225, with the biggest falls in Standard Grade. The drop was put down to falling school rolls and more pupils taking Intermediate and Access qualifications instead. However, the numbers sitting Higher and Advanced Higher exams increased to its highest level for five years.

Despite the increases, there were falls in the numbers achieving passes in Standard Grade subjects such as Construction, Gaelic and French, which fell 6.4%, 3.1% and 2.1% respectively.

Scotland's Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop said the results were a testament to the abilities of Scotland's youngsters and a cause for optimism in the nation's economic future.
She said: "These results clearly demonstrate that our young people have high ambitions and are achieving success.

"By continuing to support Scotland's reputation for skills and learning, today's results will help to make Scotland the place to do business even in these difficult economic times."

Well something positive to discuss today, good luck to anyone who is receiving their results today - hope you get the results you need.

Is Someone Listening into your Mobile Phone Calls?

The police are to examine claims that a huge mobile phone hacking operation was launched by the News of the World, targeting thousands of people.
The Guardian says the paper's reporters paid private investigators to hack into phones, many of them owned by politicians and celebrities.
It is alleged details were suppressed by the police and the High Court.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson has ordered a senior officer to "establish the facts".

I was just reading about the police investigation into the News of The World allegedly hacking people’s phones and if it is true it’s absolutely ridiculous. There’s been so much controversy surrounding journalists in recent years and in particular paparazzi, in cases like Princess Diana’s death but this is a new low. This is completely premeditated and if true absolutely shocking that anyone would think it’s acceptable to invade anyone’s privacy to that extent.

There are lots of people who campaign against the way this country is heading with CCTV on every corner and a national database of everyone through ID cards but this is supposed to be for the purpose of protecting the country, keeping the streets safer and counteracting terrorism say the Government, which may be true.

However, what excuse can a newspaper have for listening into private phone calls? Gossip? To sell papers? In my opinion there is none.

I have in the past had the view point that people who put themselves in the public eye have to deal with the consequences and all the circumstances that come with it to some extent (with the exception of children), however I am beginning to think that there are certain media sources now that have taken it too far and there needs to be a line drawn. There has to be some rules or regulations that can govern, punish and strike off any journalists who cross the line.

What’s your thoughts…?

The 'Avon Lady' is reborn stateside but is it still the same old story?

As the recession continues and people are looking for ways to supplement their income and cover their basic bills, more people are looking at direct selling jobs to see them through hard times. The familiar sound of the ‘Avon lady’ is becoming all the more common across middle America, as cash-strapped women – and men – peddle the popular door-to-door cosmetics brand.

The difference now is rather than knocking on neighbour's doors and leaving catalogues on doorsteps, the ‘Avon lady’ of today uses networking to get sales also. The conventional role of the ‘Avon lady’ has evolved, you no longer have to go door-to-door - instead, many people are taking catalogues along to events at their local church, their children's school, when meeting up with friends and family and are even setting up networking pages and internet sites to make sales.

During a recession, I think the flexibility of direct selling may work because it appeals to people that can’t afford not to earn whilst looking for a job or that need a second income that can fit around their already busy lives so it’s easy to see how Avon and other companies that use similar business models have seen an increase in representatives in the last year.

I remember when I was at school I signed up for Avon, however, partly because I didn’t have much time to dedicate to it and partly because I liked the products too much, I used to lose money and end up with lots of products that went to waste so I’m quite sceptical about the value and income it adds.

I know a lot of people that use other talents and skills to earn money in different ways but with the same principle of supplementing their main source of money. For example, selling stuff on eBay or Gumtree, becoming an Ann Summers party rep, spray-tanning or doing other beauty treatments in the comfort of people’s homes and it seems to me to be a more rewarding source of income, especially with the increase in Avon rep’s but it would be interesting to know you think.