What is Ebola? Ebola virus disease is a severe, often fatal, infectious disease caused by the Ebola virus. It was first recognised in 1976 and has caused sporadic outbreaks since in several African countries. Transmission of the virus occurs from person to person through direct contact with blood and other body fluids Ebola illness usually has a sudden onset between 2 and 21 days after exposure to the virus. The initial signs and symptoms include:
- Fever (38.6oC/101.5oF or higher)
- Weakness
- Muscle and joint pains
- Headache
- Diarrhoea
- Vomiting
How does Ebola affect our workplace? Do employers need to take action? Every employer has a duty of care to protect all staff members. Employers need to consider how they need to respond if a staff member informs them they are traveling to an Ebola affected area on annual leave or employees travelling to foreign countries through work i.e. Aid workers. There is a duty of care for employers to risk assess employees working in foreign parts. To overcome this situation Employers should communicate with Employees. Ask employees about travel plans and find out if the employee is planning on visiting a potentially exposed area or review travel routes for workers working abroad. Communicating with employees and customers is essential. Providing information from the Health Service Executive http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/news/ebolainformation.html will help enable the employer provide accurate information about the virus. The HSE website provides a range of information for
- Information for the general public
- Information for general practitioners
- Information for health professionals
- Information for Departments of Public Health
- Ebola travel advice
- Ebola news
Employers need to be sure to ask certain questions for example they may inquire about the employees travel plans, whether he or she had any contact with anyone who was exposed to Ebola, and whether the employee is experiencing any flu-like symptoms. Employers need to be careful however, to ensure that no inquiry is likely to discriminate against an employee. More information can be found on the Health Service Executive Health Protection Surveillance Centre website www.hpsc.ie Stephanie Byrne is a Technical H&S Advisor working with Peninsula Business Services (Ireland) Ltd; who are Ireland’s leading provider of employment law and health & safety services. Established in Ireland since 1997, we have thousands of businesses who have already integrated Peninsula to work as part of their HR and Health & Safety departments. With offices in Dublin, Belfast, Sydney and Manchester, Peninsula employs 1000 people across Ireland, Australia and the UK
