Approximately two in five employers (41 percent) do not have an HR policy in place for health-related emergencies, yet many acknowledge they have employees in areas where cases of Influenza A (H1N1) or ‘swine flu’ have been confirmed, according to a new Mercer snapshot survey.
 
“With the continued increase of reported cases of Influenza A, it is important for employers to develop a plan for dealing with the myriad HR issues that can arise in the event of a pandemic or other health care emergency,” said Danielle Dorling, a consultant in Mercer’s HR effectiveness consulting business.
 
“In particular, organisations with a global workforce and decentralised HR units need to have a coherent procedure in place for employee care in the event of a health emergency.”

Survey findings
The Mercer survey provides an understanding of how organisations are reacting to the spread of the virus and what plans and procedures are being implemented. While around a quarter (24 percent) of the surveyed companies were taking no special action, over half (53 percent) were considering whether to create contingency and back-up plans of some description.

Other companies planned to restrict or cancel business travel (43 percent) and cancel meetings or conferences (21 percent). A fifth of companies were planning to screen staff/visitors who return from travel.

Almost a quarter (24 percent) of companies planned to adopt a policy of enforced quarantine on employees judged to be at risk, while slightly more (27 percent) planned to allow voluntary quarantine for employees exposed to risk. Allowing employees to work from home was being considered by 41 percent of companies.

Other actions being considered were reviewing health or insurance plans (10 percent) and requiring medical check-ups (12 percent).
 

Supporting expat employees
Employees who are on international assignment may require more support from their company in the event of a health-related emergency. Language barriers may mean that locally disseminated information is not received or understood. Also, limited knowledge of local health systems may cause difficulties in accessing the correct care and expats may well express a strong desire to return to their home location, which can be costly to the company in terms of immediate expenses as well as long-term overall assignment costs and productivity.
 
“Business continuity plans should be standardised and employers must be able to communicate in a streamlined, swift and decisive fashion,” said Dorling. “Ad-hoc reaction can lead to confusion, unnecessary panic and expensive global inconsistencies that can expose the organisation to significant financial risk.”
 
Mercer’s survey, which includes more than 400 mid-size and large organisations worldwide, was conducted from 30 April to 11 May and includes responses from employers located in the US, Australia/New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Hong Kong, Brazil, Vietnam, Switzerland, China, Argentina, South Korea, Singapore, the Russian Federation, the Philippines and Belgium.

Mercer / Expatica / Anna Richie