Something to sneeze about

By VICKI JAYNE

Is infection a workplace hazard? At this time of year, sneezing co-workers won't attract a whole lot of attention - unless, that is, they've just returned from a conference in Beijing, China.

The SARS virus that sprang from Asia has helped concentrate the collective mind on where, how and by whom infectious diseases are spread.

It has not only prompted the paranoia-prone to avoid airplanes, but has also raised the whole issue of how employers should handle infectious disease risk at work.

Do they send the sneezers home, just in case? Or warn workers they'll have to take unpaid leave on their return from a holiday destination that happens to be on the SARS blacklist, even if they have no symptoms?

Can companies be sued by an employee able to prove a connection between their infection and their employer's conduct?

The answer to the last is quite possibly - although it's not yet been tested. The liability arises because only employees in more risky environments such as health are covered by the Accident Compensation Corporation under the work-related infection provision, according to Wendy Brandon, a partner at law firm Minter Ellison Rudd Watts.

"Employees who are less at risk but who may suffer a SARS infection are not likely to be covered by ACC," she says. "So if it can be shown they were exposed to that risk at work, they could claim damages. If you include lost wages or third party infection, those could be quite significant."

Also, employers have a duty under the Health and Safety Act to take all practical steps to reduce workplace hazards - and fines for those failing to do so have just been increased to $500,000.

Because SARS is an unknown quantity that has proved itself capable of killing, it has generated hype and hysteria.

Organisations that haven't previously had policies for dealing with infectious diseases in the workplace have been prompted to issue specific SARS ones.

The banking industry, for instance, attracted flak from unions for going overboard with policies requiring employees who had travelled to SARS-affected areas to stay home for 10 days - in some cases at their own expense.

Mandatory SARS leave appeared in policies issued by several big financial institutions in Australia including Westpac. The latter's policy, also adopted in New Zealand, applied in two different ways: employers undertaking travel on bank business or those who had made their holiday arrangements before the policy came into play on April 17 got their SARS leave and subsequent medical clearance at the bank's expense.

But if travel to problem areas was booked and paid for post April 17, then workers either had to take the 10 days out of their own leave entitlements or just forgo pay.

No way, cried the unions. Australia's Finance Sector Union said the bank was imposing "unreasonable cost" on workers. And in New Zealand, Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson last week issued a media release saying "workers who turn up fit for work cannot be forced to take leave", regardless of where they've been travelling.

"If employers want to take this sort of action, they can negotiate with the worker to work at home, or request the workers to stay home and keep them on full pay," said Wilson.

Such policies have since gone back to the drawing board and, according to Westpac's Auckland-based media relations manager Paul Gregory, changes will see the bank carry the cost of all enforced SARS leave.

Local finance sector union representatives at Finsec were left feeling sceptical as to whether the policy was aimed more at public perception than worker welfare.

They point out other protective measures referred to in the policy such as frequent handwashing are not realistic - particularly for bank tellers who seldom have ready access to the necessary facilities.

Finsec's national coordinator Geraldine Molloy says bank staffing is pared to the bone, and lack of relief workers puts pressure on employees to minimise sick leave, particularly in smaller branches.

That's a problem when one of the more virulent flu strains hits. Call centre staff are vulnerable to such outbreaks both because of the intensity of the work environment and close proximity to co-workers, notes Molloy.

It's easy to forget in all the SARS publicity that more ordinary infectious diseases take a regular toll. Flu and pneumonia, for instance, killed nearly 1000 New Zealanders in 1997.

Overall, infectious diseases accounted for nearly seven per cent of all deaths in this country between 1980 and 1998 - and those rates seem to be increasing. So should employers take a closer look at infectious disease risk at work?

Erin Davies, employment law specialist for Minter Ellison Rudd Watts, says it's not compulsory. But it would be prudent, particularly for employers in areas such as the health and food industries where risks of disease transport are higher, or in companies whose staff travel to Asia.



Her recommendations include giving employees up-to-date information on SARS so they can make informed choices on risk exposure.

"Business travel policies could be amended to incorporate SARS and any policies should outline steps employees should take if they suspect there is risk of infection."

Peter Tritt, manager, advisory services for the Employers and Manufacturers Association, says there is no justification for excluding people from the workplace just because they have visited a SARS-affected area. According to World Health Organisation guidelines, people are not infectious unless they have symptoms.

However, if it's a case of allaying workplace anxiety, perhaps some voluntary arrangement to work from home would be appropriate, says Tritt.

Because most companies don't have specific policies relating to infectious disease, it's a case of applying commonsense principles.

Some larger organisations, particularly in health and education, do have health and safety policies specifically related to infectious diseases.

The University of Waikato outlines systems and procedures designed to minimise risks of employee exposure to such diseases as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, tuberculosis, salmonella, mumps, measles, chicken pox, glandular fever and even head lice.

* Email Vicki Jayne