LTB 500/20 – Post Office Ltd (POL) – 2020 ‘Free’ Flu Inoculation Voucher Scheme Offer To All Staff – Joint Campaign
No. 500/2020
13 October 2020
Our Ref: PO10/20
To: All Branches
Dear Colleagues,
Post Office Ltd (POL) – 2020 ‘Free’ Flu Inoculation Voucher Scheme Offer To All Staff – Joint Campaign:
The Health, Safety & Environment Department at CWU headquarters has today received the finalised arrangements from Post Office Ltd, for their 2020 ‘Free’ Flu Inoculation (Flu Jab) Voucher Scheme offer to all POL staff and as in the past two years, it has been agreed that there will again be a joint campaign promoted by POL and CWU to encourage all POL members to accept and take up the offer.
The flu can be a painful viral infection for those infected. The UK public health authorities and the NHS estimate that the flu kills on average around 15,000 people across the UK annually. Anyone can catch the flu and spread it to others. Getting a flu jab is the best way to protect yourself, your family and your work colleagues.
The CWU is encouraging members to utilise the ‘POL Flu Jab offer’ which is now available to them ‘free of charge’ and can be obtained from leading high street pharmacies via an on-line voucher scheme this year. We therefore want to ask all our POL CWU reps to circulate this LTB to reinforce the message and remind all members how important a vaccination is this year, encouraging them to take up the offer, whilst also checking if they meet the criteria for a vaccination through the NHS.
POL’s initial plan for 2020 was to issue paper flu vouchers again, as in past years, however, due to concerns about availability of paper vouchers this year, POL has decided to switch to an ‘online voucher scheme’ for 2020. Some technical problems accessing the pharmacy booking page have slightly delayed the announcement but POL have informed CWU headquarters that the problems were resolved last Friday.
This scheme will enable all POL members to obtain a voucher and to book an appointment on line and then get a ‘Free of Charge Flu Jab’ at a high street pharmacy including Lloyds, major supermarkets and a number of independent pharmacies. The online scheme has been extended by POL and vouchers will now be available and redeemable until March 2021, rather than the original date of 31 December 2020.
POL Flu Jab Scheme briefings and communications have been sent out to admin and field teams, DMBs and Supply Chain. POL headquarters is asking managers to discuss the ‘Free Flu Jab’ scheme with their teams and obtain names and email addresses for the Health and Safety Team who are pulling together the programme with Optima Health. They will check again later this month to ensure that anyone who changes their mind or has been missed will have their details added to the list and will receive the online voucher code.
The POL ‘Free Flu Jab’ scheme has become very popular over recent years and last year there was a circa 60% take up by those members not normally eligible through the NHS.
In POL Supply Chain, larger populated sites will be visited by a nurse who will provide the vaccination to members on site. Dates are being provided to managers to share with members and posters will be displayed on noticeboards inviting members to book an appointment on a designated date. Any members who are unable to book an appointment with the nurse will be offered the opportunity to request an online voucher. An email address will be requested so that a company voucher code can be sent with instructions on how to obtain a vaccine at a range of high street pharmacies.
For DMBs, branch managers have been asking members if they would like an online voucher for a flu vaccination. Members have also been asked to initially check whether they meet the criteria for a flu vaccination from the local NHS. If not, then DMB members can inform the branch manager that they would like to request a voucher from the POL Health and Safety Team. Branch managers have been asked to provide names with email addresses to the Health and Safety Team as soon as possible. A POL voucher code will be sent to e-mail addresses with a link to instructions on how to obtain the flu jab voucher.
The NHS Flu Vaccination Programme is being expanded throughout the UK this year, increasing the availability to additional groups of vulnerable people amongst the UK population in order to help protect vulnerable people and reduce the risks to people during the ongoing Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic. Members should therefore check with their GP surgery if they are eligible for an NHS free vaccination from their local NHS clinic, local pharmacy or GP surgery. The links below provide details from each of the UK’s government health minister’s plans to expand the NHS flu vaccination programme this year.
- England: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/flu-influenza-vaccine/
- Northern Ireland: https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/news/flu-vaccination-programme-be-expanded
- Wales: https://gov.wales/wales-announces-largest-ever-flu-vaccine-programme
- Scotland: https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/immunisation/vaccines/flu-vaccine
Those members wishing to take up the offer, which we strongly recommend, should request a voucher from the Health and Safety Team by completing and submitting the online form as soon as possible. A POL voucher code will then be sent to the individual’s Post Office e-mail address with a link to instructions on how to obtain the flu jab vaccine. The Link is:- https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=sks8ayZvr0WXs_3tKnpg-WBCzbVjOz9Hiij9ARkkOXZUMENYVVhORTVaR01HSEZXWkw1WEROMkZFTC4u
Further information can be obtained from: HealthandSafetyTeam@postoffice.co.uk
Any management enquiries should be directed to Martin Hopcroft Post Office Ltd Head of Health & Safety Email: martin.hopcroft@postoffice.co.uk
The attached poster/flyer is also being circulated within POL.
Yours sincerely
Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer