Managing HR issues in the event of a pandemic

The outbreak of bird flu in Suffolk has once again raised the spectre of an outbreak of pandemic influenza.

The possibility of bird flu mutating into a virus that is transmissible between humans is considered by many experts to be a question of 'when not if'; the Government also considers a flu pandemic to be one of the current leading risks to the UK.

Despite this, research has shown that businesses are not prepared for having a large proportion of their staff unable to work (Flu pandemic simulation raises question of whether businesses are prepared), and are, in general, complacent about the risks of a pandemic (Businesses are too "complacent" about a Bird Flu pandemic).

The constantly changing nature of the flu virus means that no one can yet predict a pandemic’s timing, severity or character. Despite this, the Government has estimated that up to a quarter of employees could require time off work across the duration of a pandemic. Staff absenteeism could run at 15% for large companies and up to 30% for small organisations.

In a recent 22-week flu pandemic simulation, involving 70 financial organisations and 3,500 individuals in the City, absenteeism due to illness rose from 15% at the start of the exercise to 49% at the height of the pandemic, with clusters of up to 60% absenteeism in some business units.

The exercise highlighted that a pandemic’s main impact will be on the "availability of personnel rather than on physical assets".

Cabinet Office guidance on pandemic influenza “recommends that all organisations adopt robust and flexible generic business continuity management arrangements which will help ensure that the impact of any disruptions will be minimised”.

This preparation means having the correct policies and procedures in place that can come into effect in the event of a pandemic; so your employees know exactly where they stand, and what they should do, in relation to issues such as sickness and absence.

When considering what your organisations response will be in the event of a pandemic you should consider the basic requirements of the business – what do you need in order to function? What is the minimum number of employees needed?

Government advice is that businesses should develop policies which are specific to a pandemic situation and which would be initiated only in the event of a pandemic. These policies should of course be drawn up in advance of any pandemic and communicated to all employees.

In the event of a pandemic it may become harder for employees to attend work. This could be for a range of reasons, including: they are ill; someone in their family is ill; schools are closed so they have to look after their children; they are too scared to come into work; or they are unable to get to work because of travel restrictions.

Workplace Law’s Head of HR, Jayn Bond, comments that in the event of a pandemic the way you approach issues to do with e.g. absence should be consistent with how you deal with the issue in general - the same procedures should be followed. In particular every case, she says, should be judged on its own merit; while one person may have a good reason for being absent another might not. However, she does add that a pandemic would, of course, be an extreme event and when dealing with their employees employers should take the mitigating circumstances into account – a little more leniency than usual might be called for.

Giving employees the technology to be able to work remotely is one way to counter absence problems. Allowing flexible hours may also encourage people not to simply stop coming to work altogether. In many cases these provisions may already exist if your company allows homeworking or flexible working. Though the Government recommends you have unique policies in place in the event of a pandemic, while creating these policies you may like to consider existing HR policies. Could these be changed now, not only help facilitate things in the event of a pandemic but also to give your employees, in general, a better work life balance.

According to Government advice, when planning for a pandemic situation, you should consider issues such as:

• 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) and agreeing them with trade unions and other professional representative bodies.
• policies for flexible worksites (e.g. working from home) and flexible work hours (e.g. staggered shifts). You may like to consider what kind of technology will allow people to work from home and so avoid the need of coming to work.
• policies for reducing spread of influenza at the worksite (e.g. promoting respiratory hygiene/cough etiquette, and asking those with influenza symptoms to stay at home).
• policies for employees who are suspected to be ill, or become ill at the worksite (e.g. infection control response, sick leave policies).

You should 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.

Plus remember, an amendment to the Statutory Sick Pay Regulations 1982 relaxes the requirements for payment of statutory sick pay (SSP), so if an employee is excluded, abstains or is prevented from working because they are a carrier of or have been in contact with a case of a 'relevant disease', the employee is deemed incapable of working and is, therefore, entitled to be paid SSP. This is another reason to consider how to maintain a business with a workforce that does not attend the office every day for the duration of the pandemic.