With the global outbreak of swine flu, employers could be faced with extended staff absence both through direct illness, transport difficulties and the closure of schools and child care facilities. Therefore, it is no wonder that employers are asking themselves "Am I prepared for the effect on my business?". Contrary to initial predictions that we would not see many cases until the Autumn, the pandemic is already affecting many thousand people in the UK. So...is your business prepared? While businesses hope that the swine flu pandemic will not hit their workforce, it is a timely reminder that businesses need to have contingency plans in place for reduced staff numbers, whatever the cause of such reduction. Employees, customers and suppliers are all essential to the running of your business and are all at risk of being infected by swine flu. Lack of planning leaves businesses vulnerable and causes greater disruption to the business than necessary. Therefore, it is vital that management act now to ensure that they are not putting their business at unnecessary risk by failing to prepare for the current levels of infection and likely higher numbers come the Autumn. For those without a plan, here are a few suggestions: Health and Safety Employers have an obligation to provide a safe working environment so need to take sensible steps to reduce risk of infection in the workplace, such as: Formulate clear advice for staff on the symptoms of the virus and the importance of seeking medical advice at the earliest opportunity to prevent spreading; Educate your staff and clients about the infection and ways to control infection via posters within the workplace reminding workers and visitors of the importance of good hygiene and encourage your staff to relay the infection control measures to their family and friends; Most employees would not think twice about shaking a client's hand, yet shaking hands is an easy way to transmit the virus, so encourage employees to wash their hands on a regular basis and provide antibacterial hand gel, tissues and wipes in the office. High contact areas such as door handles, desks and telephone handsets should be cleaned regularly to eliminate any virus that may be present; Review your travel policy and focus on keeping employees healthy by restricting travel whether international or domestic, for example, consider using video conferencing or telephone conferencing instead of traveling to meetings; Look for signs of the virus amongst staff and encourage members to take sick leave if they are showing swine flu symptoms to eliminate the possibility of infecting other staff members; and Keep up to date with Government advice as to the effect of swine flu generally and particularly on vunerable groups of people, e.g. pregnant women (at the time of writing no special advice has been issued to pregnant workers who are currently not advised to avoid going to work or using public transport, although the Chief Medical Officer has indicated that when the pandemic reaches its height, probably in the Autumn, he may give more specific recommendations to expectant mothers to avoid densely populated gatherings) and those with underlying medical conditions which may make staff more susceptible to swine flu, e.g. asthma. Communication Put in place a communication plan so members of staff know whose responsibility it is to communicate updates both internally and to suppliers and customers. Ensure that effective communication channels are in place if a staff member is taken ill so that other appropriate members of staff are promptly informed. Disciplinary action Where employers are concerned that an employee is using swine flu as an excuse to take unjustified sick leave, deal with that period of absence in the same way as any other absence under the company's sick leave policy i.e. in the first place request doctor's certificate for absence. Note however that this may be difficult to enforce as patients are now able to use the National Pandemic Flu Service to obtain a diagnosis and medication meaning that staff may not be visiting their doctor. In addition, the government is currently considering the possibility of extending the self certification certificate to 14 days to prevent infected employees returning to work too early and to reduce the burden on GPs. Employers may be frustrated by staff refusing to come into work due to a fear of infection and wish to consider taking disciplinary action. Employers are urged to contemplate disciplinary action carefully, as unwarranted warnings could result in claims for constructive dismissal and could adversely affect morale. Arrangements to help businesses keep running Advise workers about the business' plans in the event that schools shut or family members contract swine flu. Employers must remember that employees have a statutory right to time off to look after dependants. Employers should consider the possibility of providing home/remote working for staff and, if appropriate, ensure that arrangements are made for remote access to servers. In doing so, employers should be mindful of their health and safety duties to employees working from home as well as the need to maintain confidentiality and comply with data protection regulations. Identify key roles that need to be carried out and consider cross training employees with a wide range of skills or redeploying staff to ensure that critical business operations can be fulfilled by the business should the need arise. Employers should be careful how they handle any enforced changes of duties. Alternatively, employers may wish to identify reputable agencies that are able to provide appropriate qualified staff on demand. Temporary recruitment can be a good alternative to home working and making necessary arrangements or redeploying existing staff. Recognise the psychological impact swine flu could have on staff members' work and business performance, especially those who fear infection or are covering for absent colleagues. For example, ensure that employees covering absent colleagues receive sufficient rest breaks pursuant to the Working Time Regulations and are monitored for work related stress. Ensure that employees keep the filing system up to date, be it electronic filing or paper based filing. It should be clear from the file what the current status of the work is so that an employee covering a colleague's absence will be able provide the service without delay or disruption. Communicate with key suppliers and business partners to ensure that the suppliers, subcontractors and distributors have robust business contingency plans in place to continue providing their services despite the downturn in staffing levels. Alternatively, consider identifying alternative suppliers ensuring the contract allows flexibility. Customer-facing organisations may want to direct customers to obtain their services/goods online as well as self-service options for customers who fear infection. It is reported that there will be a substantial loss of business as a result of the pandemic. Accordingly employers may feel forced to consider making redundancies. However, a temporary situation is unlikely to be a genuine redundancy scenario, so advice should be sought before proceeding. An employer may have a contractual right to lay staff off for a temporary period or reduce the employees' hours. However, if such action is taken without a contractual right to do so or without the employees' consent, the employer is opening itself up to a claim for constructive dismissal. Employers are urged to take advice and ensure proper procedure is complied with. Clearly it is better to be prepared and seek to reduce the effect of swine flu on your business rather than have to respond quickly in a crisis.
With the global outbreak of swine flu, employers could be faced with extended staff absence both through direct illness, transport difficulties and the closure of schools and child care facilities. Therefore, it is no wonder that employers are asking themselves "Am I prepared for the effect on my business?".
Contrary to initial predictions that we would not see many cases until the Autumn, the pandemic is already affecting many thousand people in the UK.
So...is your business prepared?
While businesses hope that the swine flu pandemic will not hit their workforce, it is a timely reminder that businesses need to have contingency plans in place for reduced staff numbers, whatever the cause of such reduction. Employees, customers and suppliers are all essential to the running of your business and are all at risk of being infected by swine flu.
Lack of planning leaves businesses vulnerable and causes greater disruption to the business than necessary. Therefore, it is vital that management act now to ensure that they are not putting their business at unnecessary risk by failing to prepare for the current levels of infection and likely higher numbers come the Autumn. For those without a plan, here are a few suggestions:
Health and Safety
Employers have an obligation to provide a safe working environment so need to take sensible steps to reduce risk of infection in the workplace, such as:
Communication
Disciplinary action
Arrangements to help businesses keep running
Clearly it is better to be prepared and seek to reduce the effect of swine flu on your business rather than have to respond quickly in a crisis.