Crystal Umbrella

Recently reports suggested that contractors who had contracted swine flu could potentially be putting others at risk by refusing to take time off work. However, as the country gears up for the expected second wave of the H1N1 virus, the government has predicted that large organisations could experience sickness levels of 12% of the workforce at any one time. This could impact on contractors receiving payment on time, particularly if payroll staff are taken ill, as there is a reliance on staff creating a BACS file each Wednesday to ensure that contractors receive their funds on a Friday.

Research carried out by law firm DLA Piper has found that “very few” recruitment agencies have contingency plans in place to ensure continuity of payments should their payroll staff take time off sick. The survey, which questioned 400 organisations, found that most firms stated that they were planning to review their contingency plans due to the expected resurgence of swine flu. However, more than half of those surveyed had not communicated planned contingencies to their staff or suppliers.

Head of employment at DLA Piper UK, Tim Marshall said that many employers had failed to look beyond their staff contracting the virus. He commented: “Managing the absence of employees who need to care for dependents may prove to be one of the biggest issues of all, particularly if local authorities…close schools.”

Contingency systems provider, Giant Precision have stated: “With the government predicting that swine fly will confine swathes of the workforce to their sick beds this autumn, depleted departments could be reduced to a skeleton staff and struggle to cope with their normal workload.”

Matthew Brown from the organisation continued: “A contingency system should as a minimum be capable of taking raw payroll data from the agency and processing this data through to BACS or CHAPS payments to workers.”

The Professional Contractors Group reported that none of its members had raised any issue regarding the effect of swine flu, however, their head of public affairs Simon McVicker said that he planned to discuss this further with IT recruiters.

The Association of Professional Staffing Companies has surveyed its member firms on the recent swine flu pandemic and have found that IT contractors are reluctant to take time off work, even if they are suspected to have the virus. This could potentially cause others in the workforce to become infected with the H1N1 virus. APSCo have attributed this reluctance on behalf of contractors and freelance workers to the current recession as they only get paid for the hours they actually work. Many contractors feel that they cannot afford to take time off due to illness. However, this issue could worsen later this year if the expected second wave of swine flu hits.

Marilyn Davidson, APSCo’s director, said: “In past years seasonal flu hasn’t been much of a problem and is considered an occupational hazard for contractors. This year though, the recession has exacerbated cashflow problems for contractors and there are compelling reasons for them to try and stay at work.”

The APSCo survey revealed that contractors who refuse to go home when sick are likely to cause “animosity” within their place of work. APSCo are recommending a pro-active approach, advising employers to ensure that their sickness policies were up to date and that “contractual terms are revised at the earliest opportunity.”

APSCo commented further: “Significant problems can arise of a sickness policy is ambiguous and a contractor with suspected swine flu stays on-site. This is something that is increasingly likely during the recession as contractors do not get sickness pay, so will be looking to maximise their income.”