Swine Influenza (Flu) Pandemic Symptoms, Information, and Planning

Author: James Carmody

Forget the economy, panic is sweeping the nation and it’s called Swine Flu. Whether it becomes a global pandemic or whether it turns out to be no worse than any other flu virus that sweeps the nation every winter remains to be seen.

However this is an issue that employers should give a thought to now. What if someone phones in saying ‘I’m not very well, I’ve phoned the doctor but she just tells me to stay at home. I might have the flu but I’m not sure. Do you want me to come in?’. In this kind of situation, the employer has to balance the interest of staff attending work against the risk of a sick member of staff infecting others. Of course if he really did have the flu, he probably wouldn’t be well enough to come in anyway, but he may be in the early stages.

Staff who do not receive contractual sick pay may have no qualms about taking time off sick, but employees who receive SSP only may think twice before taking a day off work and struggle in regardless.

Swine flue does present the perfect opportunity for anyone who wants to take a few days off work, as they can claim they erred on the side of caution by staying at home rather than risk infecting their colleagues.

Employers would be wise to think now about how to deal with this problem before it becomes more wide spread, both in terms of whether to risk someone coming in to work and whether to give discretionary sick pay if you ask them to stay at home. The first step for employers and affected staff alike though will be to get up-to-date medical advice.

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About the Author:

James Carmody is lawyer advising on UK employment law in Central London

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Swine Flu at Work