Flu season? Yes it's that time of year. But for some, it's been flu season all year it seems. The H1N1 "Swine-Flu" pandemic has been the talk of the town and/or world. Has your company developed a plan to deal with the possibility of a contagious employee walking into work and sneezing on someone? Well if you don't, here's some background information and a key to getting ready.
H1N1 is a new strain of virus which is highly contagious and spread from human to human. Often times a person is contagious 1 day prior to showing symptoms of being infected, and 5 to 7 days after being sick. The virus lives on surfaces for 2 to 8 hours.
Developing a plan is simple. Organize a meeting with ALL employees whether they are in the office or working remotely and discuss this issue with them along with your plan. This creates not only awareness but an educational opportunity. Your preventative plan should include the following:
- Encourage the use of antibacterial soaps that are available for your employees.
- Educate them on the importance of sneezing and coughing into their elbow, not hands or open field.
- Routine cleaning of desks, phone, tools and other objects that are touched frequently.
- Increased physical distance from coworkers.
If an employee is diagnosed, then obviously they should be ordered to stay at home at least 24 to 48 hours without fear of losing their job. Make sure that your leave policy is in place in order to cover sicknesses such as this. Reasonably so, ask for a doctor's note to verify this sickness within a reasonable amount of time, after the sickness is over.
As you would want for business to continue as usual, make sure that you have a backup plan, whether its cross training or utilizing a temporary worker. Also, keep this in mind in the event that your employee has to take time off in order to take care of a sick household member.
More information can be found here: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/business/guidance/
