During a flu pandemic, if an employee has flu symptoms, or has been in contact with someone with flu, can he or she be instructed not to come to work?
Is there any duty on employers to close their workplace during a flu pandemic to prevent the spread of the virus?
If, in order to prevent the spread of pandemic flu, an employer instructs its employees not to come to work, does it have to pay the employees in full?
If, during a flu pandemic, an employee has flu symptoms, can the employer insist that he or she is tested for flu?
Employers cannot insist that their employees are tested for flu. Testing an employee without his or her agreement would constitute a criminal assault and could also result in a claim for constructive unfair dismissal.
In order for an employer to require an employee to submit to a test for flu, it would need a contractual right to do so contained in either the contract of employment or a separate policy. Even where the employer has the contractual right to require such a test, the employee must be willing to be tested, although a failure to agree in these circumstances can be treated as a disciplinary issue. The level of any disciplinary sanction should be set out in the relevant policy and should be reasonable in the circumstances of the case.
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What medical evidence can an employer insist on from employees who are absent due to swine flu when government advice is that people with swine flu symptoms should not attend their GP?
During a flu pandemic, can an employer insist that someone with flu symptoms comes to work?
If an employee has exhausted his or her entitlement to contractual sick pay, is the employee entitled to be paid if the absence is due to an instruction by the employer not to come to work to prevent the spread of pandemic flu?
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During a flu pandemic, do employees have the right to be told if a colleague has flu or its symptoms?
Should a policy triggering disciplinary action after a certain amount of absence be suspended in relation to employees with swine flu?