Staff Illness

The Food Standards Code require an operator to inform staff of specific health and hygiene obligations. Part of these requirements includes the exclusion of staff when he/she is suffering from any one of the following:

• Diarrhoea
• Vomiting
• Fever
• Jaundice
• Hepatitis A
• Norwalk virus
• Typhoid fever
• Shigellosis
• Staphylococcal and Streptococcal diseases except Staphylococcus aureus
• Campylobacter
• Amoebiasis
• Giardiasis
• Salmonellosis
• Rotaviral enteritis
• Taeniasis
• Cholera
• Yersinosis

It is the responsibility of the operator to ensure that staff are excluded from handling unpackaged or ready to eat food.

In addition to the above conditions, staff suffering from a heavy cold or "the flu", which involves constant use of tissues or handkerchief, should also be excluded. It may be possible that staff with these symptoms can be temporarily reallocated to non-food handling positions.

It is suggested that the business develop a written policy for staff illnesses.

As a guide, the following suggested policy or code could be utilised:

• Staff shall report all illnesses, which have the potential to impact on food safety, to the operator or their supervisor.
• Food handling staff with symptoms of gastroenteritis like illness such as nausea, vomiting and / or diarrhoea shall be excluded from handling unpackaged foods.
• A copy of the relevant health and hygiene responsibilities shall be displayed in a conspicuous location within the business.
• A staff illness register be maintained, which includes the employee's name, date of absence, the type of illness and the return to work date.
• A full return to work for a person who has suffered/is suffering from a food borne illness will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, which may involve staff not being allowed to return to food handling activities until a doctor's certificate is produced indicating that the person is fit to resume food handling activities; or food handlers not returning to work until they are free of symptoms for 48 hours after suffering from vomiting and/or diarrhoea.
• Information regarding an illness provided to the business operator by a food handler shall not be disclosed to another person without the authorised consent of the food handler other than to an Authorised Officer of an Enforcement Agency.