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?
Can an employer insist on its employees having a flu vaccination?
Can front-line health or social care workers in the priority group for vaccination refuse to have the vaccine?
Should employees who are absent due to pandemic flu be required to get certification from their GP to confirm that they are ill?
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?
During a flu pandemic, do employers have a duty to take special measures to protect those employees who are most at risk if they catch flu, such as pregnant employees or those with asthma?
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?
Given the nature of the swine flu pandemic, it may be sensible for employers to reconsider their disciplinary policy in relation to sickness absence where employees are sick with swine flu. If employees are concerned about disciplinary action, they may attend work when unwell or return to work before they are fully recovered. Not only are sick employees likely to perform poorly, but they also risk infecting other employees, which will result in increased staff absence.
In order to avoid these issues, employers may wish to advise employees that absence due to swine flu will not be taken into account when determining whether or not to take disciplinary action. The employer should make clear what evidence it will require that the absence was genuinely due to swine flu.
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