Swine Flu and Teaching. Notes for Heads of Department

How to reduce the spread of Swine Flu

Advice issued to students 13 October 2009

If you develop flu-like symptoms

Staff should:

• Stay at home.
• Check your symptoms using the NHS flu symptom checker.

If you are still concerned:

• visit the National Pandemic Flu Service website
• call the NHS Swine Flu Information Line: 0800 1513513 (lines open from 8.00am - midnight)
• Call 0800 1513100 or text phone 0800 1513200 for treatment (lines open 8.00am - midnight)

Do not go to your GP's surgery unless advised to do so by NHS Direct or the Swine Flu Information Line.

You should call your GP directly if you are pregnant or are suffering from a serious illness and develop flu like symptoms.

If any of these health care services advise you to remain at home you should contact your Line Manager and inform them how long you will be away from work.

• Follow the University Sickness and Absence policy
• Follow the self care advice provided by the NHS.
• Contact family, friends or flu friend (see Precautions page) if you require help with obtaining medicines or supplies.

High risk groups

If you have one of these conditions you have a greater risk of catching swine flu and will be less able to fight it off if you catch it. It is therefore all the more important that you follow good hygiene practices and react quickly if you develop flu-like symptoms.

Follow the advice of your GP and discuss the situation with your Line Manager. Consideration will be made to modify duties with the aim of reducing risk of infection at work if appropriate. For example, a pregnant employee who normally undertakes duties which expose her to contact with a high number of people might be moved to other duties, where this is not the case, on a temporary basis.

A member of my family is sick, what do I do?

It is possible that you might need to take time off whilst not sick yourself. This may be to provide care for family members who have fallen ill or in order to quarantine yourself to prevent the spread of the virus where members of the family are infected.

If you request time off to care for family members who are sick, Heads of Departments and Divisions (HoDs) are requested to provide as much flexibility as is operationally practical whilst ensuring continuation of service.

Emergency time off for family needs is a statutory right, whereby an employee can request reasonable amounts of time off to deal with family issues. However, absences under these rules are unpaid. Alternatively, you can take paid annual leave.

Your HoD may arrange with you that the time absent will be made up at a later date by working additional hours. In this instance, your HoD should ensure that there is a clear agreement on how much time off is allowed and the timescale over which the lost time will be recovered.

IT services has created a page of information on Using IT Services from home during a swine flu outbreak

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