Preparing for Swine Flu

The threat of swine flu is being treated in very different ways by UK companies.  Some have asked employees returning from high risk areas to remain at home until they are sure they are clear of the disease, but as the pandemic reaches more countries, identifying who is at risk becomes impossible.

Some empployers insist that staff take home their work laptops to enable them to continue working if the work environment is affected, and one pharmaceuticals firm is ready to immunise its staff and their familes if necessary.

It is important that all firms are confident in their business continuity contingency plans, and have worked out how they would deal with an outbreak to minimise the threat to the business.  There is a danger of apathy following health scares that have not amounted to a threat to many businesses, such asa Sars and bird flu.  There is still time to get plans and preparations in place before the autumn/winter, when an outbreak is most likely to occur.