Employers told to prepare for ‘the big sick’

Employers should prepare now for high rates of staff sickness that could kick in as soon as Omicron breaches the border and last until spring or beyond, Otago University professor Michael Baker warns.

‘‘If and when Omicron gets here, it is going to really add to the burden of absenteeism this year,’’ Baker said.

‘‘Also, if the borders are open, we would be expecting a more severe flu season and the other respiratory infections that dominate in winter.’’

BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope expected good access to rapid antigen tests would be key to helping companies manage the likely fallout.

Baker said that assuming the Government stuck to its current timetable of opening the border with Australia to a large degree in March, the country could expect the rapid spread of Omicron and ‘‘very high levels of absenteeism for several months’’.

That was despite Omicron generally seeming to be a milder illness than other Covid variants, he said. ‘‘Then we may move into winter with more respiratory viruses, so I would say it would be prudent for businesses to plan for a large amount of staff absenteeism from as soon as we get Omicron until spring and perhaps even to late in the year.

We could see many months of disruption.’’

Baker stopped short of suggesting it might make sense to attempt to stagger the arrival of Omicron and the opening of the border.

‘‘It is one thing having a plan and another being able to implement it effectively – and also the relevant viruses getting the same memo.

‘‘The best outcome will be delaying this while we get as many New Zealanders ‘boosted’ and as many kids vaccinated as possible,’’ he said.

All businesses that had customerfacing roles or staff that met face-toface should have vaccine mandates and should extend them to include boosters, he believed. ‘‘It may also be a requirement to have a rapid antigen test at the start of the week, or during the week, depending on how critical some roles are.’’

Businesses might consider dividing staff who performed critical functions into two teams and trying to keep them separated if they wanted to maintain business continuity, he said.

Sickness and self-isolation caused by the rapid spread of Omicron has begun playing havoc in Europe, the United States and Australia in recent weeks.

Australian media have reported that high rates of illness among truck drivers have contributed to empty shelves at Australia supermarkets.