Workplace Policy
Pandemic Planning
Scenarios
A factory
With the flu pandemic reported in Auckland, Rolf's Plumbing of Rotorua is putting together a business continuity plan to help manage the risk should the pandemic reach its region.
As part of the plan, the company and its employees have developed and agreed on safety steps that will reduce the risk of infection spreading through the factory and office. Some safety steps are being introduced immediately, others will be put in place if the pandemic hits. The greatest risk for spreading the flu is close contact between people, so the safety steps focus on reducing person-to-person contact.
The company has already begun training staff in proper personal hygiene, including how to wash their hands correctly and how to minimise the effect on others when sneezing, and monitors compliance. It has also introduced extra hygiene equipment - such as tissues; covered, lined bins for waste disposal; and soaps.
The air conditioning system has been checked to ensure if is functioning properly. Extra cleaning has been introduced for surfaces frequently touched by hands, using a detergent and disinfectant.
The factory has appointed an Influenza manager, and has a well-publicised system for reporting and dealing with suspected flu cases.
Management are looking at the feasibility of setting up an Internet ordering service, and of installing screens to separate office staff from customers.
Should a pandemic hit, the factory floor will be reorganised so most staff would be working at least a metre away from each other. A shift work system will be introduced, to reduce the number of people in the building at any one time. The start and finish time for each shift will be staggered, so one shift is out of the building before the next arrives.
Where possible, administrative and office staff will work from home. Break times will be staggered so staff do not congregate in staff rooms, and all cups will be named so there is no sharing.
The warehouse area will also be reorganised, to reduce contact between staff and drivers. Driveway doors will be kept open to improve ventilation.
All visits by sales representatives will be been cancelled. All non-essential meetings and training sessions will also be suspended or will take place by phone or online. Any meetings that do take place will be kept short and run in large rooms so staff can stay one metre apart.
Staff and managers also discussed and agreed on ways to protect the business from the financial impact of a pandemic. If orders for plumbing goods dry up because of a pandemic, staff have agreed to take accumulated holiday and sick leave when there is not enough work to keep them busy.
An accounting firm
With the first case of the flu pandemic reported in nearby Blenheim, Nelson accounting firm Accounting Partnership is putting together a business continuity plan to help it manage the risk should the pandemic spread closer.
As part of the plan, the firm and its employees have developed and agreed on safety steps that will reduce the risk of infection spreading through the office. Some safety steps are being introduced immediately, others will be put in place if the pandemic hits. The greatest risk for spreading the flu is close contact between people, so the safety steps focus on reducing person-to-person contact.
The firm has drawn up plans that would enable it, at short notice, to shut the office and have staff work from home during a pandemic. It has drawn up computing, telecommunication and administrative systems, and has discussed with staff how the work-from-home arrangement might operate, dealing with any problems and concerns staff raised. These included the extra costs staff would bear in working from home - such as bigger heating bills - and ways to physically separate their workspace from their living space.
The firm will pay to set up the home offices, and will ensure that workstations are set up properly. Workloads will be reduced to take account of processes taking longer at home.
Face-to-face meetings with clients will be suspended, with all dealings taking place by email or over the phone. Couriers will be used to deliver documents, using secure mail boxes.
Staff have already been trained in ways to avoid catching flu, including good hygiene and social distancing. They have made a commitment to remain at home during working hours, and to avoid exposure to the flu as much as possible.
The arrangement is supported by staff, particularly those concerned they might need to stay at home to look after sick family members. Clients also appreciated the firm's efforts to keep going during the pandemic.
Café owner
When a pandemic hits, cafes and restaurants could be ordered to close down. John, a Timaru café owner, has discussed this possibility with his four staff, and together they've agreed a plan to help the business manage the financial impact of a closure.
Normally, wages must be paid if a business closes when staff are willing and able to work. But John's staff understand that, as a small business owner, he has a limited ability to keep paying wages when the café is shut. They've agreed that if the café must close John will pay wages for the first week, then if the café is still closed, staff will use up their accumulated annual and sick leave. After that, they will take unpaid leave. If the worst happens and the business goes bust because of the pandemic, staff will get the redundancy payments allowed for in their employment agreements.
This arrangement may entail financial sacrifices for both sides. But John and his staff are looking to the future. They want the cafe to survive the pandemic so they will have jobs to go back to.
John is in a far better position than Masterton restaurant owner Mary. By not reaching an agreement with her staff before the pandemic Mary has exposed herself to a greater financial hit and increased the risk that her business may not survive.
Supermarket Owner
A south Auckland supermarket is planning for the possibility of flu pandemic
in the near future.
As part of this planning the company and its employees are looking at a
range of safety steps suggested by pandemic experts, to see which might
be appropriate for their circumstances. They are also considering when it
might be appropriate to introduce particular safeguards.
The greatest risk for spreading the flu is close contact between people, so the supermarket is focusing on safety steps that would reduce contact between customers and staff.
The range of options being looked at by managers and staff includes:
- Giving staff extra training in safe food handling techniques, proper personal hygiene - including handwashing and sneezing etiquette - and monitoring staff compliance.
- Providing improved hygiene equipment for staff - including tissues, covered, lined bins for waste disposal, and soaps.
- Introducing extra cleaning of surfaces frequently touched by hands, using a detergent and disinfectant, and checking that the air conditioning system is functioning properly.
- Appointing an Influenza manager, and drawing up a well-publicised system for reporting and dealing with suspected flu cases.
- Investigating the cost and feasibility of setting up an Internet shopping and home delivery service.
- Investigating the cost and feasibility of installing screens in front of check out operators.
Other options should a pandemic hit include:
- Limiting the number of customers in the store at any one time by encouraging customers to come in less often and to buy more on each visit. Putting up notices advising customers to stay at least a metre away from each other while shopping.
- Providing hygiene equipment for customers, such as tissues, lined bins, and an alcohol-based hand sanitiser by the front entrance.
- Covering all food for sale with packaging - including fruit, vegetables, bread and delicatessen items.
- Providing staff with disposable gloves and P2 masks to use when handling unpackaged food. Providing staff with training in the use of the masks, opportunities to practice using them, and making sure their fitting of the masks is checked by a supervisor.
- Staggering break times so staff do not congregate in staff rooms or change rooms, and naming all cups so there is no sharing. Cancelling visits by sales representatives.
- Reorganising the warehousing area to reduce contact between staff and drivers. Arranging for driveway doors to be kept open to improve ventilation.
Staff and managers are also discussing possible changes to work practices during a pandemic, including:
- Shelf stockers working only at night and staying at least a metre away from each other, and office and accounts staff working from home as much as possible.
- Suspending all non-essential meetings and training sessions, or arranging for them to take place or online. Any meetings that do take place would be kept short and run in large rooms so staff could stay one metre apart.
- To help ensure the supermarket stays open, some staff members might volunteer to be call, meaning they would come into work at short notice should a workmate call in sick, or need to stay home to look after family and friends.