Bosses have been told to prepare for mass ‘illness’ after Anzac Day – with many workplaces likely to be half-deserted on the Friday after Thursday’s bank holiday.
Many Aussies are expected to turn the end of this week into a long weekend and most likely use cold and flu treatment on Friday to “stay at home”, said the co-founder of sick leave certificate app Sicky, Avinash Vazirani.
Although another type of absenteeism – “mental health day” – is also growing rapidly, Mr Vazirani said.
He said last year’s Anzac Day, which fell on a Monday, saw a 53 per cent jump on normal sick leave applications and it was reasonable to think that number would at least be repeated this Friday.
Last year, more than 50 percent more people reported sick than usual on the day after Anzac Day (stock image)
“Our data suggests there will be a spike in the number of people calling in sick – it’s a common trend we see after every public holiday in the middle of the week, followed closely by the weekend,” Mr Vazirani said .
‘Very often this is because our patients have overindulged themselves or have had to deal with contagious people during their social contacts.’
Mr Vazirani said Mondays and Fridays are the most in-demand sick days in a given week, with colds and flu being the most common illnesses accounting for a third of absences.
Gastro and Covid were the next most common complaints, at 19 percent each, followed by migraine (nine percent) and stress-related insomnia (seven percent).
However, the burgeoning reason for staying away from work has been to take mental health days, which have seen a staggering increase. 233 percent since Sticky launched in 2020 during the Covid pandemic.
Meanwhile, a row has arisen over civil servants being given the right to work during Anzac Day and celebrate the holiday on another date that suits them better.
Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce said allowing 350,000 Commonwealth employees the option to swap Anzac Day for another day of leave deliberately diluted the event’s significance in remembering Australia’s military personnel.
Mr Joyce claimed the policy had ‘blinded’ the Minister for Veterans Affairs, who was not consulted.
Co-founder of sick leave certificate app Sicky, Avinash Vazirani, predicted there would be a surge in work absenteeism on Friday
A row has broken out over Commonwealth civil servants being given the option to work on Anzac Day and pick up hours at a different time
“This is yet another example of how veterans and their families are feeling the loss of their voice in Cabinet,” Joyce said.
“Until Mr. Albanese took office, the Minister of Veterans Affairs sat at the cabinet table. But not under Labour.’
Mr Joyce called on Prime Minister Albanese to return to the former coalition government’s policy of recognizing Anzac Day as a day of national remembrance.
Assistant Public Affairs Minister Patrick Gorman said the policy of swapping Anzac Day for another holiday had been policy for most of the previous coalition government’s time in power and was only reinstated.
“The member for New England knows that there was flexibility to replace days during nine years of coalition government,” he said.