The influenza virus that hit Malta hard this winter affected production lines too, with employers reporting a massive surge in workers calling in sick.
Although no official figures are available yet, Malta Employers’ Association’s director general, Joe Farrugia, said members reported an increase in the number of workers absent from work because they were sick.
“Many employers have reported a surge in sick leave due to the flu outbreak and this occurred across all sectors,” he said.
Read: Flu cases double, piling pressure on hospital staff
“However, many companies have contingencies to deal with such situations and, in most cases, this enables them to keep disruptions in production within acceptable levels.”
A chief executive of a medium-sized company, who asked not to be named, said almost three-quarters of his employees were sick over a three-week period between mid-January and the first week of February.
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“As you can imagine, this had an effect on production. I had the rest of the employees working overtime but there’s a limit to how much can be done. They couldn’t possibly do everything and it would have been unfair of me to expect it of them,” he said.
“At the end, I got the flu too and it kept me out of action for some time.”
A doctor who works for a large company said he was inundated with home visits to see employees down with the flu.
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“I couldn’t keep up with the visits. There were days when I had to rope in a colleague. I’ve never seen such a bad flu outbreak in the 20 plus years I’ve been practising medicine,” he said.
According to the health authorities, flu cases in the second week of January were twice the highest number recorded in 2017. The influx of patients seeking treatment for flu forced hospitals in Malta and Gozo to postpone non-critical interventions in the first two weeks of this year.
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Flu struck earlier than usual and the number of patients suffering from the infectious illness reached a high in the second week of January.
Nine out of every 100 people examined by a doctor since mid-December was found to have contracted influenza. This figure shot up to 16.6 cases per 100 patients in the second week of the year – double the highest threshold level last season.
Mr Farrugia said some employers resorted to overtime, flexible hours and banking of hours.
Read: Influenza season at a peak in Europe, Malta
“In such cases, it is better for affected employees to stay at home in the interest of their health and also to avoid spreading the flu among colleagues, which would result in higher absenteeism,” he noted.
According to official statistics, paid sick leave cost the government €50 million in 2015, the highest in 10 years. The data by the EU statistics office shows that paid sick leave benefits cost the government €49.97 million, up from €46.8 million the previous year after having been almost constant for two years straight.
The data gives a breakdown of the amount paid to employees who were absent from work because of sickness and who return to their job when they recover.
The amount paid is the continued, for a limited time, payment of workers’ salaries during sickness.
The Times of Malta reported in September that public sector workers took three times more sick leave than those in the private sector.
While public sector workers took an average of nearly eight days of sick leave each, those in the private sector took two-and-a half.