Pandemic influenza - Introduction
Current advice from the World Health Organisation is that countries should be planning for a possible influenza pandemic, although the timing of the pandemic is highly unpredictable. In the event of an influenza pandemic, businesses will have a key role to play in reducing the risk to employee’s health and safety as far as possible. Businesses will also need to ensure that their essential operations continue.
Access our guide on employer’s responsibility for health, safety and the environment.
Given the highly uncertain nature of an influenza pandemic, it cannot be known in advance how serious this could be or who will be most affected. It is therefore important that plans are developed which address a range of scenarios.
To assist businesses in developing and reviewing plans, the Government has developed a checklist specifically relating to pandemic influenza. The checklist identifies important and specific activities which organisations can do to prepare for a pandemic as well as where more general guidance will be provided by the Government.
The checklist is not exhaustive. It is a guide to help you start thinking about what you may need to plan for.
Allocate resources to protect employees and customers during a pandemic
Businesses need to have resources in place which will protect both employees and customers during a pandemic. This could include introducing measures which will reduce the spread of infection or investing in better equipment.
The following issues need to be examined when looking at allocating resources to protect employees and customers during a pandemic:
- Provide sufficient and accessible means for reducing the spread of infection (e.g provision of hand washing facilities or hand-hygiene products)
- Consider additional measures to reduce the risk of infection, such as more frequent cleaning on premises, and ensure the resources to achieve these will be available
- Consider whether enhanced communications and information technology infrastructures are needed to support employees working from home, tele-conferencing instead of face to face meetings and remote customer access
- Consider creating a policy which details medical treatment available for UK staff working overseas, and whether any specific arrangements need to be put in place, and more generally develop policies, based on duty of care, on managing your overseas staff taking into account possible reduced access to consular services
Co-ordinate with external organisations and help your community
It is not only important to look after yourself and your employees during a pandemic, the community in which your business is located could also suffer. Any information received on planning or preventing spread of the pandemic should be shared with as many people as possible.
The following issues need to be examined when looking at how businesses could help the local community as a whole:
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Find out about pandemic planning in your region and locality, for example through regional resilience teams, and liaise with agencies and local responders.
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Share best practice with other businesses in your community.
Communicate to and educate your employees
If a pandemic were to strike, communication will be vital ensuring that employees know what is expected of them and how they are to conduct themselves.
The following issues need to be examined when looking at how a business would communicate to and educate their employees during a pandemic:
- Provide your workforce with easily-accessible information about pandemic influenza which is appropriate to the stage of alert (e.g. signs and symptoms of influenza, modes of transmission), personal and family protection and response strategies (e.g. hand hygiene, contingency plans). This should be based on the information already available on the Department of Health website
- Ensure that communications can be understood by all
- Inform employees about your pandemic response plan, including their role in this plan
- Develop hotlines/dedicated websites which are used to communicate your pandemic status and actions to employees, suppliers, and customers
- Ensure that relevant websites are sources for timely and accurate pandemic information.
Establish policies to be implemented during a pandemic
Policies which need to be followed during a pandemic, need to be written and communicated well before any pandemic strikes. It is no good writing policies during the pandemic and expecting people to know what they are and how they are to be implemented.
The following issues need to be examined when establishing policies which are to be implemented during a pandemic:
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Guided by advice issued by Government, establish policies for sick-leave absences unique to a pandemic, including policies on when a previously ill person is no longer infectious and can return to work after illness (i.e. when they are no longer showing symptoms and feel better). Read our guide on managing absence and sickness for more information
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Establish policies for flexible worksite (e.g. working from home) and flexible work hours (e.g. staggered shifts). Read our guide on flexible working for more information
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Guided by advice from Government, establish the current policies for employees who are suspected to be ill, or become ill at work (e.g. infection control response, sick leave policies)
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Set up authorities, triggers, and procedures for activating and terminating the company’s response plan, altering business operations (e.g. reducing operations as necessary in affected areas), and transferring business knowledge to key employees. This should include nominating deputies for key employees in advance, in case of absence
In the early stages of a pandemic which has not yet reached the UK, the below policy needs consideration:
Plan for the impact of a pandemic on your business
No-one knows if and when pandemic influenza may strike a Cumbrian business, but it is important to plan just in case.
The following issues need to be examined when planning for the impact a pandemic could have on any business:
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Identify a pandemic coordinator and/or team with defined roles and responsibilities. The planning process should include input from a wide range of stakeholders e.g. health and safety representatives and trade union officials
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Identify the critical activities undertaken by your business which would have to continue during a pandemic, as well as the employees and other inputs that support those activities (e.g. raw materials, suppliers, sub-contractor services/products, logistics, process controls, security). Consider how internal resources could be re-allocated to ensure those activities are maintained
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Discuss with your suppliers/sub contractors whether they have robust Business Continuity plans in place – your organisation is only as good as those on whom it depends
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Consider preparing an additional pool of workers to undertake key tasks and provide training where appropriate (e.g. contractors, cross train employees, retirees)
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Determine the potential impact of a pandemic on your business-related travel (e.g. should international travel be stopped in certain countries due to quarantines and/or border closures). Note that current planning assumes that domestic travel will not be restricted, although the Government may advise against non-essential travel
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Establish an emergency communications plan and revise it on a regular basis. This plan should identify key contacts (with back-ups), chain of communications (including suppliers, customers and employees), and processes for tracking and communicating business and employee status
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Implement an exercise to test your plan, and revise on a regular basis taking into account updated advice and guidance from Government
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Find up-to-date, reliable pandemic information on the Department of Health website. Access this information on the Department of Health website (www.dh.gov.uk/home/fs/en)
Plan for the impact of a pandemic on your employees and customers
Pandemic influenza could have a serious affect not just on your employees but also your customers. Plans need to be in place to ensure that if a pandemic occurs employees are safeguarded and normal business can continue.
The following issues need to be examined when planning the impact a pandemic could have on your employees and customers:
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Guided by advice issued by Government, forecast and plan for employee absences during a pandemic. This could be the result of a number of factors including personal illness, family member illness, bereavement, possible disruption to other sectors for example closures of nurseries and schools or reduced public transport
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As a general approach to reducing the spread of the infection across the country, assess your business needs for continued face to face contact with customers/suppliers and consider plans to modify the frequency and/or type of face to face contact (e.g. video or tele-conferencing instead of travelling to meetings) among employees and between employees and customers. Whilst there is no intention to restrict domestic travel, the Government is likely to advise against non-essential travel, and this should be taken into account in planning
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Plan for a likely increase in demand for employees welfare services, if they are available, during a pandemic
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Identify employees and key customers with special requirements, and incorporate these requirements into the plan
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Consider your customers’ needs during a pandemic and whether to review how your business operates – do you need to make any changes in order to continue meeting your customers’ needs?
