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Every business is at risk from problems caused by diseases, infections and allergies.

For example, there may be an outbreak of a disease among the general public which could make it hard for the business to continue.

You should consider:

• Do you have contact details for your staff so you can contact them and let them know if you expect them to come into work?
• Could you cope if many of your employees were too unwell to attend work?

These issues could be covered in a business continuity plan. See business continuity and crisis management.

Make sure you consider the possible risks of diseases, infections and allergies when conducting your health and safety risk assessment. See health and safety risk assessment.

Specific industry risks for infections

Certain types of business do work which includes specific risks of infection. For example:

• People involved in providing healthcare may come into contact with body fluids or other clinical waste. They need to be aware of clients who may be immuno-suppressed and need special care to protect them from infection.
• People whose work involves cleaning or processing sewage (including plumbers) may need to clean up waste or other materials which could be carrying infectious materials.
• Beauticians, tattooists or body piercers will be exposed to small amounts of blood.
• Trades that work with animals can be at risk from diseases transmitted by animals. For example, farms and vets. 

Materials that can cause allergies

Asthma and allergies in the workplace may also be a problem. You may need to take particular care if you deal with:

• latex
• straw
• plants
• chemicals, such as fume from solder or some car spray paints
• animal hair
• flour dust

Food business risk

If your business deals with food, you must take precautions against food-borne infections and ensure your customers are aware of any allergy risks. Contaminated food could lead to halted production, recalled products and a damaged reputation.

If your workers are exposed to risks of infection you may need to consider some of the most serious risks:

• Hepatitis
• HIV
• Tuberculosis

Reducing risks of infection

A first step is to go through your processes to see if there are ways of reducing risks. For example:

• Can processes that might lead to contact with body fluids or other infectious materials always be carried out in areas that are easy to clean?  Can the right protective equipment be easily at hand?
• Can you avoid using sharp instruments such as needles, glass or metal? If not do you have sharps disposal containers readily available?
• Do you provide gloves or other protective equipment?
• Do all staff have access to clean toilet and hand washing facilities for their own use?

Assessing specific groups for infection risk

Your assessment of infectious risks should consider risks to:

• yourself
• your employees
• any clients or other visitors to your workplace

Do you need to make provisions for anyone who is particularly at risk to infection? This might include people who are old, ill, young or pregnant.

You and your employees may well pick up infections from one another in the same way as you might from friends and family outside work. Infections that are just as likely to be caught outside the workplace as in it are not your responsibility under health and safety law.

Taking action to prevent infection

Once you have done your risk assessment you should implement safe working practices. If the risk is low and you have only a few employees (eg a small hairdressing salon) this will involve some very simple steps to ensure everyone has the right information. If you work in healthcare or other businesses where the risks of infection are high, you will need to ensure employees are trained and competent for the work they do and follow safe procedures.

Coronavirus is still circulating in the community.

Protective measures

Where staff are in the workplace, employers are encouraged to carefully consider what practical measures might be suitable for their settings.

These may include: 

• hygiene and sanitary measures, such as regular handwashing
• some form of social distancing, ideally of no less than one metre where practicable
• mechanical or natural ventilation
• the use of physical barriers
• wearing face coverings in communal areas
• testing

See welfare facilities at work for information on the handwashing facilities you must provide.

You must consult with all your employees on health and safety. This does not need to be complicated. You can do this by simply listening and talking to them. Your employees are often the best people to understand the risks in the workplace. See consult your employees on health and safety.

If your business is hit by an outbreak of disease or infection, your first step should be to seek expert advice on how to deal with it.

Reporting outbreaks

There are a range of infectious diseases that, by law, you must report to your local authority if an outbreak is suspected. A doctor who makes the diagnosis must make this report. This applies even if the diagnosis is suspected rather than confirmed.

Some diseases are very infectious and present a problem for public health, such as TB or blood borne viruses. You must report these to the Public Health Agency. In these cases, contact the Public Health Agency on Tel:  0300 555 0114 and ask for the "Duty Room" for their advice. 

You must report diseases caused by work to the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI). Examples include:

• hand-arm vibration
• carpal tunnel syndrome
• chemical poisoning
• chrome ulceration

You are required to do this by the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR). You can . You can also see first aid, accidents and ill-health for more information about reporting incidents to HSENI.

Minimising disruption

An outbreak of disease may be highly disruptive to your business. To minimise the impact, you should put business continuity procedures in place. For more information, see business continuity and crisis management.

Some substances that you or your staff may be exposed to at work can cause asthma, or make existing asthma worse. This can include chemicals and 'naturally occurring' substances and things such as grain dust, flour dust, animal dander, mould spores, mites, etc.

Just as with other substances hazardous to health, you need to:

• assess the risks, provide adequate control measures, ensure the safe use and maintenance of these substances
• provide information, instruction and training
• in appropriate cases, carry out health surveillance

Contact with some substances can also cause . 

If your employees develop an allergy you'll need to ensure you take steps to protect them. You can or see managing hazardous substances.

Managing allergies also means taking steps to protect your customers. An obvious example of this is in the food industry. You should use clear labelling to make sure that customers with allergies can avoid products that might trigger a reaction. See labelling food products.