Posted By Bob B I am starting to get really mad at irresponsible employers who actively encourage employees to go to work when it is quite clear they are not fit to do so. In my case, a colleague of mine turned up to work with all the symptoms of this new 'norovirus' bug going round. It was quite clear that he was unwell but continued to operate a forklift truck in an fast moving consumer goods environment. His reason for staying was that is is company policy not to pay sickness for the first 24 hours (if the individual has had a sick period within the previous 11 months). I caught up with him towards the end of the shift where i noticed he was sat almost half asleep on his truck. I told him he was playing a dangerous game and likely to kill himself or someone else. On this advice, he left and went home much to the annoyance of the managers. Guess what? a few days later I had the virus and have been off work for 4 days with all the same symptoms. For 2 days I was doubled up with stomach cramps with pain I have never known before. Company policy! annoyed managers and 24 hours lighter in my pay packet. The icing on the cake is that my wife sat at work last week with her supervisor coughing and spluttering her way around the office, and now my wife now has a nasty cold. This leaves me trying to hold the family together and wondering if I am also going to get the pleasure of my wifes supervisors cold. (If I get this, should I accept another 24 hours less in my pay packet or should I go to work and hand it around?) So, are these employers actively encouraging bad safety practices. They say people should report ill health and will send the home accordingly, but underneath, people are reluctant to report their illness especially if there is a no pay policy, and managers are turning a blind eye. Are the employers committing a criminal act? If all employers told staff to stay at home when they have contagious diseases, surely there would be a lot less bugs being passed around and in the long run nationally we would benefit with less lost working days. Should we introduce legislation to prosecute employers who know people are carrying these dieases. I'd love to hear anyone elses opinion.

Posted By Andrew Lochlyn Ure It's not 'new'. It's been around for many hundreds - possibly thousands - of years as have the group of viruses that cause the common cold. We'll never be free of transient illnesses like this that in general terms do no more than cause a period of discomfort. They are not, unless complications ensue, life threatening. I think we need to be extremely careful in our profession that we don't start jumping at shadows. Calling for legislation to "prosecute employers who know people are carrying these dieases" would be unrealistic and unenforceable, and would likely fall upon the already beleagured Local Authority Environmental Health Officer to police. Think about the connotations: "There's a bug going round so we will have to submit all of our employees for screening to see if they are suffering from it, and woe betide any manager who knowingly allows them to continue working while they're ill". My own perspective is that we accept minor illnesses as proof of being alive, and only step into the breach to control them in the workplace when the risk dictates we should do so.