Offer Flu Shots?

CarolL1999

I got a call today from a well known drug store chain saying they were going to be in our building and wanting to know if we wanted them to come in and offer flu shots. Ignoring the "going to be in our building" part, would you allow an external known entitiy like a national drug store chain to come in and give flu shots to your employees? I assume they would charge something, but not sure that's the point. Should I worry about liability for our company for adverse reactions? I'm inclined not to do it but it does seem like a good public service.

cnghr

We have offered on-site flu shot clinics as part of our wellness plan for many years now. We have had private clinics come in, and also a large supermarket chain whose pharmacy offers the shots. We are currently using a private clinic. Immunizations are covered 100% by our health insurance plan, so for those employees on our insurance, it's billed directly to the insurance. We pay for them for those employees who don't subscribe to the insurance. We have found that many more employees will get flu shots if we offer them on-site than if they have to go to their own health care provider to get them.

I'm not sure what sort of liability you may be thinking your company might have with regard to adverse reactions. Every entity who has done a flu shot clinic here has always obtained a signed consent & release form from each individual who gets the shot. Since they provide the vaccine and administer the shots, any liability for adverse reactions would be theirs, you are simply providing the venue.

FunHRBanker

We're the same as cnghr. The offering clinic or pharmacy brings in paperwork for the employee to complete and sign.

Library HR

We not only offer flu shots to our employees, but we pay for them since they are not covered under our plan. Our employees work in a public government setting, meeting the public on a ongoing basis. We feel like since their jobs expose them, we should provide the shots. We also hope that this keeps everyone healthy and at work.
We contract with the local hospital to provide the shots. Everyone has to sign a consent and release form. We have been doing this for years with no issues.

CarolL1999

Thanks everyone for your quick responses. I will consider offering at our company given this feedback.

Jen Carsen

It's also worth mentioning that employees are far more likely to actually get those flu shots if they're offered at work (so convenient) and better for your productivity and morale if employees aren't home sick with the flu!