Swine Flu - Employers Update

Many businesses will be wondering how they will cope if the UK is badly affected by the current pandemic of the new swine flu influenza strain, also referred to as influenza A(H1N1).

The new virus has mostly caused relatively mild illness in sufferers in the UK. There have been some tragic cases of serious illness and death, but these appear to have involved underlying medical conditions as well. Even so large numbers could be affected at one time.

Companies should make sure they understand how an outbreak could affect their legal rights and responsibilities towards:

• Staff;
• customers and suppliers; and
• local and central government agencies

Some management planning now may help to reduce the impact of any outbreak on a business. Human resources professionals will want to think about these issues, as they may have opportunities to help their employees.

Business continuity planning

The main practical issue for most organisations at this stage will be business continuity planning, especially focusing on:

• Coping with significant levels of employee absence. (Obviously, businesses differ in how easily they can cope with this issue. Some may depend especially heavily on specialists who will be hard to replace on short notice.
• Reducing the risks of flu coming into and spreading within the workplace itself.
• Dealing with any sector-specific issues. For example, travel businesses, pharmaceutical and medical equipment manufacturers, food logistics businesses, financial services businesses and many public sector organisations may have special sensitivities, opportunities, legal concerns or duties.
• Dealing with the disruption of a key supplier or customer by an outbreak. The relevant party may be outside the UK, so could be disrupted even if the UK is relatively unscathed.

Many businesses will have already made business continuity plans, but these may need to be reviewed or tailored to the current threat. It may also be a good idea to make fresh efforts to inform colleagues of existing policies, without fuelling alarm. People are likely to pay more attention to communications about these policies when there is a specific threat in mind.

Human resources/employment law issues

Employers need to focus on the following three areas when preparing for pandemic flu:

• The duty to protect the health and safety of employees;
• Dealing with staff absence;
• The possible suspension of "normal" working practices and the impact that this may have on contracts of employment;

Where there is a recognised trade union or other employee representative body, such as a works council or information and consultation committee this may need to be involved in the planning that is taking place in respect of pandemic flu (whether or not such bodies may also need to be consulted is beyond the scope of this article).

Action points for employers

To deal with these human resources issues, employers should:

• Communicate with staff about the current health risks and ensure systems of communication with staff are reliable.
• Review hygiene practices and improve these, where necessary.
• Have contingency plans for staff absence, identifying key staff.
• Review relevant policies such as sickness, absence or dependant leave policies and consider how these might need to be modified.
• Consider putting in place arrangements for homeworking or travel bans, should this become necessary.

Staff absence

Staff absence may be high for the following reasons:

• Employee sickness.
• Fear results in people choosing to stay at home.
• Sick children or relatives need looking after (or schools close).

Employers always face a conflict between the need to keep genuinely sick employees away from the workplace and the need to prevent unauthorised absence. However, in the event of a pandemic, concerns about whether someone is a malingerer should give way to the very real need to prevent the spread of the disease. Workplaces which have a culture of encouraging employees to "struggle in" despite not feeling well will need to change their approach; indeed not to do so would expose them to claims for breach of contract. It is also possible that employers could benefit from insisting that those who are unwell stay away from work for reasons other than limiting the spread of the virus within the work place. A well-advertised sickness policy of this kind might help employers reassure healthy, but worried, staff that work is relatively safe.

The hardest thing to manage is likely to be employee fear, particularly if this becomes widespread and there is public consensus that staying at home is safest. For the time being, employees should be required to attend work as normal, unless there is a particular risk posed in that workplace; this is in line with Government advice to carry on life as normal while being aware of the risks. However, this may change and employers should take their cue from Government.

Employers will need to understand what statutory and contractual rights employees have in connection with sickness and also dependant leave.

As indicated above, high levels of staff absence will affect business continuity. Employers should identify those staff with interchangeable skills who could stand in for one another in the event of illness as well as putting in place back-up from external contractors. This is particularly crucial in relation to key staff.

Staff absence

Q: What should I do when an employee reports they have been in contact with a person suffering swine flu, but they themselves are not showing flu like symptoms?

Answer: The employee should be instructed to advise the employer as soon as they begin to show any flu like symptoms, you may wish to consider confirming these instructions in writing to the employee.

Q: What should I do when an employee shows flu like symptoms and/or reports they may have flu like symptoms?

Answer: Immediately medically suspend the employee on full pay, send the employee home and instruct the employee that as a condition of their medical suspension, they must

• Check their symptoms on the swine flu information line 0800151 3513 as soon as they are at home.
  
• If they consider they have swine flu, they must stay at home and contact their GP over the telephone for a diagnosis or contact the National Flu Service.
  
• Once the employee has been diagnosed, they immediately report back to their line manager over the phone what they have been advised to do by their GP or the National Flu Service.

You may want to consider confirming the above in writing to the employee.

Q: What happens to their pay when they report sick?

Answer: If the employee reports back their GP/The National Flu Service has advised that the employee must remain at home, they are then sick, medical suspension will be lifted and they will be paid in accordance with whatever sickness arrangements you have in place.

Q: How does the employee get their sick notes to me if they can’t go to see their GP?

Answer: Given the government is considering new proposals to extend sick leave without a doctor’s note from 7 to 14 days employers should be prepared to accept self certification from the employee for up to14 days following diagnosis. After 14 days the employer should expect to receive a medical certificate for ongoing sickness or a return to work.

Q: What about those employees who have children with swine flu, what happens to them?

Answer: If a member of staff reports their child/dependant is suffering from swine flu but they are not showing flu like symptoms, you should follow the guidance above on someone who has reported they have been in contact with someone with swine flu, but they themselves don’t show flu like symptoms. If an employee without flu symptoms requests time off to care for a child/dependant, you should consider that request in accordance with the legal principals of time off to care for a dependant but in addition you should follow the guidance above on someone who has reported they have been in contact with someone with swine flu, but they themselves don’t show flu like symptoms. If the employee reports their child/dependant is suffering from swine flu and they are showing flu like symptoms also, you should follow the guidance on medical suspension above.

Q: What about communications to employees and visitors?

Answer: Where an employer has a reported case of swine flu, a communication should be sent out to all staff/visitors reporting that a case of swine flu has been reported within the business and that in order to contain the spread of the flu, the individual has been sent home and that any employee/visitor showing flu like symptoms should report to their manager/chaperone immediately. In this communication the employer should reinforce good hygiene practice and explain what processes they have put in place in order to mitigate the spread of the flu.

Q: What sorts of steps can I take in order to mitigate the spread of the flu?

Answer:

• You should consider displaying signs in the workplace discouraging staff and visitors with flu like symptoms entering the workplace and remind people of the importance of the signs & symptoms of flu and the importance of self isolation of people with symptoms.
• You should ensure you promote and provide the materials for all employees in the workplace to use disposable tissue to control coughs/sneezes, disposing of those used tissues appropriately and washing their hands after sneezing, before eating, drinking etc.
• Surfaces should be cleaned regularly with the usual materials,
• Consideration should be given to improving access to hygiene facilities and hand rubs could be made available at entrances to premises.

In addition to the above, you should also get a copy of the current NHS guidance to businesses on dealing with swine flu.

Additional Swine Flu Articles:
Swine Flu - Your Duty as an employer