Although the first wave of swine flu has not been as bad as initially predicted, it is widely believed that a second wave is likely.

What can employers do to ensure their businesses can cope if swine flu hits their workforce? Andrew Gibson, Employment partner at Hill Dickinson highlights some of the more practical steps you can take to prepare your business.

A sensible starting place would be to consider the basic requirements of the business without which it cannot function. Particular regard should be paid to the minimum number of employees required to run each division or department. As part of this exercise, it would be useful to compile a list of employees within the organisation who can cover critical roles and tasks in the event that a key member of staff is absent, and consider which staff could be easily retrained or redeployed in the event of a heavily depleted workforce.

In circumstances where the workforce is hit hard, it is important to ensure that appropriate training is given to any remaining workers who may be required to carry out unfamiliar tasks. You should also be prepared for the possibility of hiring and training additional temporary staff to supplement departments where staff numbers have fallen below the minimum level required.

Employers should consider how information would flow to employees and to suppliers and/or customers or clients. Other precautions include video-conferencing or teleconferencing instead of holding meetings and allowing employees to work from home.

Whilst absenteeism can have a detrimental impact on any business employers must remember they have a legal obligation under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to take steps to prevent the spread of disease in the workplace. Employers should therefore provide their employees with clear advice and updated information on the symptoms of the disease and send home any employees displaying symptoms.

For employees with child care responsibilities employers ought to remember that under section 57A of the Employment Rights Act 1996 employees have a statutory right for employees to take a ‘reasonable’ amount of unpaid time off to deal with unforeseen events regarding dependants.