Erfurt (dpa/th) - Before the Black Friday discount campaign, Barmer drew attention to the high level of sickness-related absences in the delivery industry and warehousing. The sickness rate in this professional group is 57 percent above the Thuringian average, the health insurance company announced on Tuesday after evaluating its insured data.

According to this, employees in Thuringia's delivery industry and warehouse management were reported unfit for work for an average of 35.1 days last year, it said. The value in the Free State was 22.4 days across all occupations. "Of the 1,000 employees in this professional group, which is currently in such high demand, almost 100 are absent due to illness every day," explained Barmer country manager Birgit Dziuk.

According to the health insurance company, back problems in particular lead to absences among employees in the delivery industry and warehousing. According to the information, the average of 10.9 days is almost 120 percent above the Thuringian average of five days absent due to back problems. Injuries such as fractures, strains or abrasions would also lead to above-average absenteeism, it said.

The industry is particularly challenged with discount campaigns such as Black Week and Black Friday when shopping online. In view of the resulting mountains of parcels, employees in postal and delivery services as well as in warehousing came under pressure, which was also noticeable in terms of health, it said.

Black Friday falls on November 25th this year and Cyber ​​Monday on November 28th. However, it has become common practice in retail to lure customers with Black Friday offers in the days and weeks before the actual deadline.