Questions To Ask Your Employer Before A Bird Flu Pandemic
Bird flu? Have you heard of it? You have probably been hearing
more about it in the news lately. What is it and why should you
be worried about it? Avian influenza affects poultry and wild
game birds. It has been mainly in Southeast Asia but is
spreading to other countries. Since 2003 160 people worldwide
have become ill and about 82 have died. It is deadly to poultry
and can be lethal in humans as well. The people who have
contacted bird flu have been in close contact with infected
birds. At this time it is not transmitted by human-to-human
contact. But scientists fear, and health experts agree, that it
is only a matter of time that the virus will change into a form
that can be easily passed from person to person. When that
happens there will be an increased risk of a worldwide pandemic.
We will not have immunity to this form of the flu and it can be
deadly. It may be similar to the 1918 flu that killed 40-50
million people around the world. If it starts to spread, life as
we know it will change. Millions will become ill and millions
will die around the world. This flu could last for months at a
time and up to three years. More than likely schools and
businesses would be closed, public events canceled,
transportation shut down and travel severely limited. Meaning
your only choice is to stay home with your family.
Your business or company may have anywhere from 30-60% of the
employees out sick, or out to take care of ill family members.
A bird flu pandemic could last for weeks or months at a time.
You may be out of work for several months. You may want to start
taking some measures now so you are prepared for being out of
work and loss of income.
You need to ask your employer how they will be handling a
pandemic crisis. What will their policies be? How are they going
to provide a healthy work environment so that it will minimize
the spread of the flu? How is your health insurance? Does it
need to be updated? Will they offer additional sick time or paid
leave of absence? Can you get a wage or salary advance or
partial advance? Who will fill in for you, if you are out sick
or need to stay home with family members who are ill? Are your
co-workers crossed trained? What happens if you need to stay
home with your children because schools are closed? Can your
business run with 50% of employees out sick? What happens if the
business needs to shut down completely? How do they plan on
communicating with employees who are at home? Are there options
for working at home? What if you need to leave the area to go
somewhere safer? Will you have a job when you return? These are
the type of questions you need to start asking today before a
bird flu pandemic.
You will want to make copies of your employment agreements,
health and life insurance policies and other employee documents
including investment plans, stock options and other benefits. If
we enter a pandemic and you need to stay home and be out of work
for several months, you may want to consider tapping into any
investment plans to find available cash to carry you through. A
global influenza pandemic will have catastrophic consequences
worldwide that will affect your business, career, investments,
home, family and community. Stay informed about the bird flu and
start planning for a possible pandemic.