Swine Flu at Work – are you ready?

Image by The Artifex via Flickr

Ireland seems to have avoided the brunt of the Influenza A(H1N1) swine flu pandemic to date. As of the 28th of July there were a total of 276 laboratory confirmed cases of the disease in the state, 38 of which were classed "in country" transmissions (passed from person to person within the country, as opposed to being picked up outside Ireland and brought in). That’s a fairly small number, but one of the characteristics of a pandemic is the tendency for small numbers to turn into big numbers very quickly.

Last week an estimated 1,500 suspected cases of swine flu were reported to Irish GPs, and a glance across the water to our nearest neighbour, Britain, which is top of the European league table for Swine Flu infections by quite some margin, reveals a worrying trend. There were an estimated 100,000 new cases of swine flu in the UK during the week ending the 19th of July. That’s almost double the figure for the week before, with the numbers typically doubling week-on-week. Meanwhile infections here continue to rise sharply, and public health officials warn that it’s only a matter of time before Ireland’s first swine flu related death occurs.

In Britain, the pandemic is already having an impact on the workplace. Figures released last week by absence management firm FirstCare revealed that 130,000 people stayed off work with cold and flu symptoms on the 14th of July, up from 45,000 a week earlier. Here the HSE is advising Irish businesses to gear up for increased absenteeism in the workplace as the pandemic takes hold.

"Acknowledging that a significant problem is coming down the track for businesses is the first critical step," advised Paul Connors, HSE Director of Communications. "Planning for the pandemic is key and adopting a common sense approach is recommended to minimise the impact on the business community."

The HSE suggests that employers appoint a pandemic coordinator and a deputy who can familiarise themselves with the critical requirements, put together a business continuity plan and communicate with staff and other stakeholders on key issues to manage the impact of the virus on staff wellbeing and business productivity.

According to the HSE, key areas for employers to consider include:

• Increased absenteeism as staff stay off work with the flu, or to care for someone with flu (the HSE suggests an estimated 15% absenteeism in the workforce, the Department of Enterprise Trade & Employment suggests planning for peak absentee levels of up to 40%)
• Advice for staff on preventing the spread of the disease in the workplace
• Information and training on decontamination and hygiene of equipment and work surfaces
• Staff and supplier communications — keep the people who operate and supply the business informed of the potential impact of the pandemic, and ask for information from suppliers about possible downstream impacts on supply
• Customer communications — let customers and clients know if there’s potential impact from the pandemic ahead of time
• Cross staff training to facilitate the transfer of knowledge regarding the pandemic and the business continuity strategy throughout the workforce

As the swine flu pandemic begins to escalate in Ireland, make sure your company is ready for it. The better your preparation, the lower the workplace impact.

A Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment document called "Business Continuity Planning – Responding to an Influenza Pandemic" (c. 1.4MB PDF file) with helpful advice, step-by-step guidelines and useful case studies for different business types is free to download.

Be Sociable, Share!

•