What does it cost you per day if an employee gets sick?

Every business owner fears flu of COVID-19 will break out within their business. What are the costs for absenteeism? And how can you contribute to prevent disease or further contamination within the company?

What are the average costs of a sick employee?

With a sick employee you have to deal with direct and indirect costs. Direct costs include continued salary payment and health and safety services. Indirect costs includes costs for replacement personnel, loss of production or turnover, etc.

Calculation example with expenses

You can calculate the costs per employee yourself on Verzuimkosten.nl. Nevertheless, we would like to give an example of the expenses. We assume an average annual income in the Netherlands of € 36,500 (Source CPB, 2016). We will base this on Dutch rules and laws.

Costs of sick/absent employee per day:

Continued salary payment: € 153,-
Costs of replacement: € 146,-
Loss of production/sales: € 43,-
Costs health and safety services: € 60,-
Absenteeism counseling: € 7,50

Total costs absenteeism: € 410,- a day (*)

* With quarantine where working from home is not possible, you are already talking about almost € 200 per day in costs.

What can you do to minimize the risk of contamination within the company?

In areas where people are together for a longer period of time, such as conference rooms, workplaces, open-plan offices and canteens, it is advisable to use air cleaning. With a professional air cleaner, up to 99.95% of the air that is sucked in is cleaned of all kinds of pollution, including bacteria and viruses.

What does air cleaning cost and how does it relate to medical costs?

One air cleaner costs a company about € 116 per month. In an average meeting room it is recommended to place two air cleaners. For € 232 per month you can protect your company and your employees against infections. The air cleaners are mobile and can also be used in other rooms.

Suppose your employee has got COVID-19 and is ill for 3 weeks at € 410 per day = € 6150 in costs. And what if several people have become infected? How fast will this amount increase?

In this example we have assumed the costs for air cleaners in an average meeting room. Of course we can also make a calculation that is suits to the situation at your company.

Conclusion

The monthly costs for a properly functioning (mobile) air cleaner are lower than the absenteeism costs per day of an employee who is sick or in quarantine because of COVID-19. So be wise and invest in air cleaning before facing absenteeism costs!

Would you like to know more about the possibilities for your situation? Then contact us!