Coronavirus: checklist and FAQs for employers
Get answers to the most commonly asked and HR practice related questions and understand how to support your business through a global health emergency
Understand how to support your business and workforce through this global health emergency
The new coronavirus disease, officially named COVID-19, has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. As the virus continues to spread extensively, it’s posing a significant challenge to many organisations.
This factsheet provides an overview of the current coronavirus situation. It explains what the virus is and gives advice on how employers should respond to the threat and support employees by being prepared, particularly looking after employees’ health and safety and developing flexible resourcing plans.
Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as MERS-CoV and SARS (Cov). The official name for this new disease, not previously seen in humans, is Covid-19. It was first identified in Wuhan City, in Hubei province, China.
Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people. As this new strain causes a new illness, it's not known exactly how it spreads from person to person, but similar viruses spread by cough droplets.
Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and death. Generally, more severe cases occur in people with weakened immune systems, older people, and those with long-term conditions like diabetes, cancer and chronic lung disease.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the virus a global health emergency. Although it is spreading around the world, and spreading quickly, it is yet to be classed as a ‘pandemic’. A pandemic, in WHO terms, is ‘the worldwide spread of a disease’. It's still unclear how severe the virus is, and how far it will spread.
On Friday 28 February 2020, the World Health Organization raised the global risk assessment of the infection to 'very high', but the risk level depends on each country.
Currently the main concern for employers is dealing with travel to and from affected areas. Several governments have advised against all travel to Hubei province and all but essential travel to the rest of mainland China, the cities of Daegu and Cheongdo in South Korea and several small towns in Northern Italy. We advise all employers to keep up to date with the latest advice on travel from local authorities.
Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as MERS-CoV and SARS (Cov). The official name for this new disease, not previously seen in humans, is COVID-19. It was first identified in Wuhan City, in Hubei province, China.
COVID-19 spreads in a similar way to flu, where there is close contact between people. If someone with the virus coughs or exhales and is within a metre of someone else, the other person could catch it by breathing in droplets of infected fluid. People can also catch it by touching contaminated surfaces or objects. Most people infected with the virus have mild symptoms and recover, but some experience more serious illness and may need hospital care. People over 40 seem to be more vulnerable, as are those with weakened immune systems or an underlying health condition such as diabetes, cancer and lung disease.
The incubation period of COVID-19 is between 2 and 14 days. Common signs of infection include a fever, a cough and difficulty in breathing.
In January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the virus a public health emergency of international concern. As it’s spreading around the world, and spreading quickly, on 11 March the WHO categorised it as a ‘pandemic’ which, in WHO terms, is ‘the worldwide spread of a disease’.
As the virus continues to spread, it could pose a significant threat to some organisations. We live in a global economy and many employers have operations or supply chains based overseas. The level of risk an organisation may face will depend on whether it is directly or indirectly affected in this way. An organisation may also be affected if it employs people who have travelled back, or been in contact with, anyone who has returned from an area affected by the virus.
If the virus becomes a pandemic, it could lead to wider disruptions with suppliers and customers and to shortages of fuel and other basic commodities. There may also be disruptions to public transport.
Across APAC, advice from local authorities differ but we generally see a theme of: Any employees returning from overseas in the last 14 days should stay indoors and avoid contact with other people, even if they don’t have symptoms of this virus. This advice is changing daily – stay up to date with the latest advice from your local authority.
Employees’ health, safety and well-being during a global health emergency like the coronavirus outbreak should be paramount. Employers have a statutory duty of care for people’s health and safety and to provide a safe place to work, but there's also a strong moral responsibility to ensure that employees feel safe and secure in their employment. Communicate clearly to employees that they need to take precautions, avoiding travel to affected areas and/or coming into contact with infected or potentially infected people or animals. Advise them on what to do if they think they may have caught the virus.
Check with your local authorities on the latest policy and advice in regard to self-isolation and sick-pay should you employees be asked to self-quarantine or contract COVID-19
For Singapore:
For Hong Kong:
For Malaysia:
For Indonesia:
For Thailand:
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE. (2020) Coronavirus action plan. London: DHSC.
BASKA, M. (2020) Coronavirus: HR and facilities teams must work together to keep workplaces hygienic. People Management (online). 6 March.
BASKA, M. (2020) Coronavirus: more support needed for working parents as schools close, say business bodies. People Management (online). 19 March.
CHURCHILL, F. (2020) Coronavirus could mean a fifth of the workforce is off sick, government warn. People Management (online). 3 March.
CHURCHILL, F. (2020) Staff anxiety the biggest coronavirus challenge for businesses, survey finds. People Management (online). 20 March.
HOWLETT, E. (2020) Coronavirus: how should HR approach self-isolation?People Management (online). 27 February.
Explore more on the People Management coronavirus hub.
Note: The CIPD is not engaged in the practice of law, accounting or medicine. Any commentary in this article does not constitute and is not a substitute for legal, tax or medical advice. Readers of this article should consult a legal, tax or medical expert for advice on those matters.
This factsheet was last updated by Rachel Suff.
Get answers to the most commonly asked and HR practice related questions and understand how to support your business through a global health emergency
Coronavirus has hit global headlines in recent weeks, with the World Health Organization declaring a global public health emergency
As we face the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the CIPD is collating and publishing updated resources to support your response