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Peak Season
The
peak holiday season is almost upon us, although
not for us here at docleaf. This is when we
are at our busiest. In the last few weeks we’ve
helped our clients to handle several headline
hitting incidents.
One
of our clients suffered from an unwelcome guest
aboard one of their cruise ships. Unfortunately
this type of virus is prevalent wherever there
are large numbers of people living or congregating
in close proximity. We worked with the client
to minimise the impact of the cancellation of
a cruise.
Further
afield another client company was affected by
a terrible accident which resulted in three
fatalities. Our trauma team is working with
survivors to provide support in the immediate
aftermath.
Elsewhere another team is offering support to
employees and bereaved family members during
the official inquest into the death of an employee
at work.
Now
is the time to assess your crisis plan and make
sure that it is up to date and that everyone
is fully prepared for the peak summer season.
Quick
Checklist
1. Are all members of staff familiar with the
plan, that doesn’t just mean they have access
to a copy?
2. Are all contact details correct?
3. Have elements of the plan been reviewed or
tested recently?
4. Are key personnel on crisis team still in
place or still in relevant job functions?
5. Have new resort/destination details been
added and relevant information been compiled?
6. Have there been any changes to technology
or infrastructure, new telephony, computer systems?
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Corporate Manslaughter
Amendments
to the legislation covering Corporate Manslaughter
are expected to create a new offence which will
be based on the failures in the way an organisation
manages its activities. This approach looks
at the practices of carrying out an organisation’s
work rather than any particular negligent act
by an employee causing death. The proposals
move away from identifying a single individual
who constitutes a directing or controlling mind
and instead focuses on senior management failure.
This
will have significant implications for the travel
industry, particularly for operators offering
adventure travel and adventure activities. Developing
and maintaining good health and safety practices
will be essential to companies to ensure that
they can demonstrate ‘due diligence’.
For
more information on developing best practice
in Health & Safety, contact docleaf on info@docleaf.com.
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Anniversaries
Next
week marks the first anniversary of the
London Bombings. In the handling of Post
traumatic Stress Disorder, people need to
be aware of the significance of anniversary
dates.
docleaf’s
Head of Trauma, Jo Crofts explains, “These
can be a powerful reminder of loss and in
some cases can trigger psychological conditions.
During this time victims of traumatic events
may need additional support. However, the
key thing to remember is that there are no
hard and fast rules. Every one is different
and the way in which they to deal with an
anniversary date will vary.”
If
you have any employees who were caught up
the events of July 7 or facing the anniversary
of a traumatic incident, here are a few useful
tips.
1.
Let people recognise and acknowledge the date
in the way that they feel most comfortable.
Some people need to be quiet and away from
people, others need to be with people. Be
aware of individual needs - in this case,
one size does not fit all.
• Some people may want to visit the site,
go to a memorial service or visit a grave
2. Not everyone knows what they should or
want to do on the date, offer a listening
ear. Don’t try and talk them into doing anything
specific.
3. Everyone copes with grief differently,
be respectful - there is no right or wrong
way.
4. Reassure people - an emotional reaction
is normal - the event wasn’t.
5. Consider providing a quiet area for staff
to go who don’t want to attend services etc
6. Allow time off for people to attend memorial
services or visit sites.
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