Outbreak of swine flu sees organizations reviewing pandemic plan and boosting communication with employees
It’s early days for the onset of the H1N1 — also known as swine flu — in Canada but many employers have already started communicating with workers about the health risks and the possibility of a pandemic. Those organizations that still lack pandemic plans should start now, say industry experts.
The plans are important for more than just pandemics. They work for any kind of emergency, such as a terrorist attack, to help cope with the potential of high absenteeism and disrupted operations, said Diane Champagne, a Montreal-based principal for the health and benefits business at Mercer.
“Especially in the economic times we’re in now, employers can’t afford to have a high level of absenteeism when they may have already laid off people and may have just sufficient number of people. It’s really making sure your people can continue,” she said. “Someone who doesn’t have a plan now should be thinking about one.”
Those creating plans should think about specific policies, such as employees staying at home, changes to travel plans and prevention measures, such as washing hands and keeping the workspace clean.
“That sort of thing employers could put in place quickly,” said Champagne.
But there is no “boilerplate” approach, she said, because every organization is different and it depends on the industry, the size of the organization, the geographic reach and locations.
“Doing a preparedness plan does take some time because you have to think about all the policies you have to put in place, your backup systems, your critical paths and all that.”
Lessons from SARS outbreak
Blakes law firm already has a formal process in place for such an event and the SARS outbreak in 2003 helped inform the protocol, said Mary Jackson, chief officer of legal personnel and professional development at Blakes in Toronto. Thus far, the law firm has monitored the news about the swine flu, sent out an e-mail with suggestions on how employees can help prevent the virus’ spread.
“It’s finding a balance between taking the right precautions and being cautious and, on the other hand, not inflaming fear,” said Jackson. “You get so much news and information about it — that in itself raises the concern. It’s important to show employees you care. Obviously we all look at things differently because of all the communication in the world, I think you have to respond.”
The best time to plan is, of course, when there is no problem, but that goes against human nature, said S. Len Hong, president and CEO of the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.
“This to me is a wake-up call. We actually had the luxury of a lull between SARS, Avian flu and now to get ready, but we’d better not get too many wake-up calls before we get into action. So now is the time to start doing things, start planning, start preparing employees, start preparing your business,” he said. “Unfortunately, they do come and go so we should consider pandemics a normal business consideration and plan for them.”
How Scotiabank, L’Oréal are handling outbreak
The health and welfare of employees is a top priority for Scotiabank, which is monitoring the situation and has sent out an executive letter to employees reinforcing proactive measures individuals can take, said Cory Garlough, Toronto-based vice-president of global employment strategies at Scotiabank. The company also has well-defined business continuity plans to ensure it can continue to support customers should an usual event occur, he said.
“These plans have been constantly evolving over the last several years and have been tested by the widespread power outage that occurred in 2003, SARS in 2002/2003 and other events,” he said. “We continue to refine and build on our strategies to ensure that we are as responsive as possible during a work interruption.”
L’Oréal Canada is also monitoring the situation closely and keeping employees up to date through internal communications that relay information and recommendations put forth by health authorities such as the Public Health Agency of Canada.
“We also encourage employees to remain vigilant and invite them to visit the organizations’ websites for additional information on any precautionary measures they can take to protect themselves,” said Teresa Menna, manager of corporate citizenship and internal communications at L’Oréal in Montreal.
Never too late to start
One-half of Canadian companies with 500 or more employees have no pandemic plan, according to a December 2008 survey by GlaxoSmithKline. One-third do not intend to create one and only one per cent of those companies with a plan have included the 15 key components recommended by authorities and experts, which include minimization of direct interaction among employees, identification of key employees and critical functions, extra stock of critical supplies and factoring daycare closures and transportation disruptions into absenteeism projections.
There has been a lack of a sense of urgency, said Champagne, though the SARS crisis really was a wake-up call to a lot of organizations. Probably the most important part is the communication, making sure employees have credible, up-to-date details on what to do and what not to do, said Champagne. Otherwise, they may start talking and spread false rumours, and things could get out of control.
“That’s probably the most difficult part to manage, people’s reactions and attitudes, everybody has different values,” she said. “What you can’t control are people’s feelings and emotions when faced with a situation like that.”
Swine influenza: Advice for employers preparing for pandemic
The same legal considerations that apply to employees who are unable to work due to illness apply to employees who fall ill or are quarantined during this outbreak. These legal considerations include obligations under employment standards, human rights, occupational health and safety, workers compensation and privacy legislation. It is important to review employment policies, benefit plans, employment contracts, collective agreements and applicable legislation to ensure that you are aware of potential legal consequences before a pandemic strikes.
Tips for employers
Prevention:
•Alert employees as to the symptoms and risks associated with swine flu, as well as prevention measures.
•Encourage employees to wash their hands prior to commencing work, after sneezing and coughing, and after they touch objects that may have been in contact with people exhibiting flu symptoms.
•Encourage employees not to touch surfaces that may be contaminated with the flu virus and to avoid close contact with people who are sick.
•Provide hand sanitizers and respiratory masks, where appropriate.
•Review cleaning procedures in place to regularly disinfect equipment, work stations and the workplace generally.
•Consider introducing a policy requiring disclosure of employee personal travel to a swine flu “hotspot” such as Mexico. Consider also a return-to-work guideline that outlines whether employees returning from a hotspot will be required to absent themselves from the workplace and whether they will be eligible to apply for sick pay or be paid for time away from work.
Containment:
•Require sick employees to stay home.
•Consider accommodating quarantined employees by use of alternative work arrangements.
Prepare for potential work refusals:
•Ensure supervisors and managers are familiar with work-refusal obligations and steps, as required under applicable health and safety legislation.
Establish a pandemic preparation and response team:
•Identify a team responsible to plan for a pandemic, including representatives with expertise in human resources, operations, health and safety, and communications.
Prepare a plan:
•If the employer is part of a global corporate plan, consider how it can be implemented locally and how it may need to be adjusted on local leave.
•Establish a process to obtain and implement public health directives.
Consider whether to operate or not:
•Determine to what extent the business can operate in the event of a pandemic.
•Assess staffing needs, including alternative work locations, overtime agreements and alternative means of getting work done without direct human-to-human contact (such as teleconferencing and videoconferencing).
•Assess the effect of a pandemic on suppliers, service providers and customers.
•Consider how much time is needed for an orderly shutdown, if necessary.
•Review insurance coverage and relevant agreements to determine how the employer can meet contract terms if it decides not to operate.
Security considerations:
•Consider whether the employer’s facility is secure, in anticipation of possible service reductions (such as hydro or water), reduced staffing levels and the possible need to shut down, without much, if any, warning.
Determine sickness or disability coverage:
•Contact insurers to determine sickness or disability coverage, including that for employees who have been ordered to stay in quarantine but who are not sick.
Determine obligation to permit employee to be absent from work to care for sick family members:
•Review applicable legislation and obligations to determine if employees are entitled to emergency, family or other legislated leaves to care for sick family members.
Communication:
•Determine who will be responsible for issuing communications.
•Provide information to employees about swine flu and associated symptoms and risks.
•Carefully and clearly communicate information, policies and procedures to all employees.
•Ensure employees receive regular, updated training and information on hazards and hazard identification.
•Establish a system for employees to report their status during a pandemic, including what information they are required to communicate (and how) to the employer and when they are expected to not report to work.
•Ensure employee and employee emergency contact information is up to date.
•Inform employees of how the employer will communicate with them in the event of an emergency.
Visitors:
•Where applicable, consider screening visitors to the workplace.
•Ask visitors to provide information as to where and how they may be contacted after their visit, in the event that swine flu develops in the workplace and they need to be notified.
Source: Robb Macpherson, Erika Ringseis, Hena Singh at McCarthy Tétrault.
