Employers told to take radical action against swine flu

EMPLOYERS have been urged to implement radical new working arrangements this autumn to combat the spread of human swine flu among their workforce.

It is expected that up to 30% of employees will become infected by the H1N1 virus, with 15% off work at any one time.

Yesterday, around 200 employers attended a free seminar in Dublin, organised by occupational health experts Medmark, on how to handle a swine flu outbreak in the workplace.

They were urged to reduce face-to-face meetings, cancel non-essential training, introduce flexible working hours, staggered shifts and allow employees to work from home.

Employers were also advised to spread out lunch periods and avoid mass employee gatherings in smoking and other areas.

Dean of the faculty of occupational health at the Royal College of Physicians, Dr Paul Gueret said the point of the meeting was not to panic employers but to make them aware how the virus could impact on productivity.

“In addition to implementing stringent hygiene practices, they need to think about new social distancing arrangements that will help prevent the spread and keep them operational despite a reduced workforce,” he said.

Dr Gueret said employees would need up to two days off to get the flu vaccination as it would be administered in two separate doses about four weeks apart, at vaccination centres around the country.

HSE head of health protection Dr Kevin Kelleher said companies would be able to cope even if 15% of the workforce was absent at a time due to the virus.