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22nd Pandemic Management Online Conference for Employers: Essential Covid-19 Update

Online Training

Cost per attendee: £195 + VAT (£234 inclusive of VAT)
Special 25% discount available to the NHS - email registrations@bfi.co.uk from an NHS email address, and we will send you the code for you to register with.
Register and pay online now or email registrations@bfi.co.uk to request an invoice instead

There are companies who may not survive the current global Covid-19 pandemic; everyone is operating in uncharted waters.

Drawing lessons from the SARS and Avian Flu outbreaks, BFI’s unique 22nd pandemic management event for employers is now available virtually and combines the necessary medical, HR, risk mitigation, legal and operational elements into a robust management plan.

Attend a 3.5-hour live interactive training session with built-in time to get your questions answered, and networking opportunities during the tea breaks. You will receive a full set of resources.

Why attend?

This critical briefing will give employers the real facts and figures, ensuring your organisation revises and implements practical and workable business continuity and contingency plans. We'll also examine the components of a legal and up to date employment law policy to include furlough, sick leave and absenteeism, quarantine and communications as affected by a global pandemic outbreak.

Experts will also address the crucial elements of communication and briefing during a pandemic as well as give key medical updates and government plans to ensure your organisation can implement a robust recovery policy.

Online Conference Highlights

  • Up-to-the minute expert advice on the latest developments in law, policy, directives and best practice
  • All the world-class information and speakers featured in previous events, but in a safe format accessible from your device
  • Revised programme to address specific Covid-19 challenges as they are happening
  • Shorter format to suit the new working day; safely and easily accessible content
  • Direct access to experts to have your questions answered live
  • Virtual networking with your peers facing the same challenges - make sure you discover what colleagues are doing and which strategies work best

Feedback from our 21st Pandemic Planning Conference, March 2020:

"Lots of practical takeaways and invaluable advice. Excellent Day" - Head of Thought Leadership, BCI

"Interesting and relevant. If still a lot of unknowns" - Head of Health and Safety, Muller UK and Ireland LLP

"Very interesting, well-qualified speakers" - UK Business Continuity Manager, Telefonica

"Good flow from different areas of expertise" - Group Safety Director, FirstGroup PLC

"Good speakers, good content, very useful at this time either now or to stop what we do" - EHS Advisor, Lucozade Ribena Suntory

"Excellent speakers, well-run event" - Crisis Simulation Director, YUDU Sentinel

"Very credible and useful advice." - Business Manager, Hampshire Trust Bank

 

VIEW: Free teaser video (coming soon)

Which functions will benefit from attending

  • HR, Health and Safety, Business Continuity Planning, Occupational Health, Contingency and Business Continuity Planning, Recruitment, Resourcing, Legal & Compliance, Line Management, Employee Relations, Security, Risk, Compliance, Strategy, Operations, and all directors and staff with responsibilities within this area.

Hear from

Schedule

Welcome and introduction

Elizabeth Smith

Elizabeth Smith

Director of Research
Business Forums International Ltd. (BFI)

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Business Forums International Ltd. (BFI) logo

Elizabeth Smith

Director of Research , Business Forums International Ltd. (BFI)

Elizabeth is director of research and a founding co-director at Business Forums International. She is responsible for all programme content and writing, and researches current areas of interest for senior HR professionals in large organisations. BFI is the UK’s leading HR risk specialist conference and training provider, delivering key and timely information to over 3,000 delegates a year both through public and in-house training courses. Before founding BFI in 1996, Elizabeth specialised in researching corporate financial programmes in Asia and the Middle East, based in Dubai. She also worked in advertising and publishing in the Middle East and London. Elizabeth was educated in the West Indies, Saudi Arabia and Belgium before reading Modern Languages at Durham University. She is currently developing an online training course for line managers to raise awareness of menopause symptoms and ways that employers can work to make their workplaces more inclusive.

Welcome and rules of engagement: chat, networking, interaction, Q&A

Global update for employers

Dr Dipti Patel

Dr Dipti Patel

Chief Medical Officer
Foreign & Commonwealth Office

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Foreign & Commonwealth Office logo

Dr Dipti Patel

Chief Medical Officer , Foreign & Commonwealth Office

Dr Dipti Patel is a consultant in occupational medicine and a travel medicine physician. She is Director of the National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC), and the Chief Medical Officer at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). She is also an honorary lecturer in occupational medicine at the Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health at Manchester University. Previous roles include being a non-executive director at the Health Protection Agency, the director of clinical services at the Medical Advisory Service for Traveller’s Abroad, consultant occupational health physician at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and honorary clinical senior lecturer in occupational medicine at the Kent Institute of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dipti is an associate editor for Travel Medicine and Infectious Diseases, and co-editor of the ABC of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. She is a member of the UK Advisory Committee on Malaria Prevention, the Travel Subcommittee of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, and is on the WHO roster of experts in Travel Medicine. Dipti has a special interest in complex travellers, travel health education, medico-legal issues, and occupational travellers.

  • Context setting
  • COVID-19 - Background and timeline
  • Global surveillance
  • Overview of key messages for employers
  • Advice/recommendations related to travel and international employees
  • Case studies
  • Resources

Key virology messages for business - lessons from SARS to Covid-19: ensuring your staff and customers are safe

Professor David Heymann CBE

Professor David Heymann CBE

Professor David Heymann CBE
LSHTM

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LSHTM logo

Professor David Heymann CBE

Professor David Heymann CBE , LSHTM

David Heymann holds a BA in general science from Penn State University, an M.D from Wake Forest School of Medicine, and a DTM&H from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). He is currently Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at LSHTM and Head of the Centre on Global Health Security at Chatham House, London. From 2012 to March 2017 he was chairman of Public Health England For 22 years Heymann was based at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva on secondment from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during which time he rose from Chief of Research of the Global Programme on AIDS to Founding Director of the Programme on Emerging and other Communicable Diseases. He then was named Executive Director of the Communicable Diseases Cluster, a position from which he headed the global response to SARS, and finally was named Assistant Director for Health Security and the Director General’s Representative for Polio Eradication. Before joining WHO David Heymann was based for 13 years in sub-Saharan Africa on assignment from CDC where he worked Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, DRC and Malawi. During this period he participated in the response to the first, second and third outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in DRC, investigated human monkeypox outbreaks throughout central and western Africa, and supported ministries of health in field research aimed at better control of malaria, measles, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases. Prior to joining CDC Heymann worked in India for two years as a medical epidemiologist in the WHO smallpox eradication programme. David Heymann is an elected fellow of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (US) and the Academy of Medical Sciences (UK), and has received seven different public health awards, including the Heinz Award on the Human Condition, that have provided funding for the establishment of an on-going mentorship programme at the International Association of Public Health Institutes (IANPHI). He has published over 200 peer reviewed articles, commentaries and book chapters, and is the editor of the Control of Communicable Diseases Manual, a major global reference for public health and health protection. In 2009 he was appointed an honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) for service to global public health.

A crucial medical update on the current situation to help employers understand what will happen next and what they should be planning for in the medium-and long-term, including a look at PPE myths and realities.

Legal checklist: furlough, sick leave and absenteeism, quarantine

Vince Toman

Vince Toman

Barrister
Lewis Silkin LLP

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Lewis Silkin LLP logo

Vince Toman

Barrister , Lewis Silkin LLP

Prior to becoming a barrister, Vince worked in industry where he had first-hand experience in collective employment law and trade unions: as a shop steward; an adviser to independent trade unions; and an employment lawyer for a leading trade union firm of solicitors. Having then worked for a number of years in the Employment Department of a large city practice, he joined Lewis Silkin in January 2001. Specialties: He is an expert in trade union and collective employment law issues. He advises on industrial disputes, Information and Consultation Regulations matters (ICE and TICE), as well as European Work Council issues. He also has experience in health and safety issues, including disaster management and corporate manslaughter.

  • Duty to protect staff
  • Quarantine
  • Sick leave and sick pay
  • Working from home
  • Risk assessment
  • Changes in employee roles
  • Layoffs/furlough
  • Absenteeism and disciplinary actions
  • Communications
  • Third party contracts
  • Testing and contact tracing: privacy and date requirements
  • Union relations

Virtual tea break and delegate networking

Don't miss the chance to have a virtual cuppa with your fellow delegates. We will provide a networking room with interactive functions and the option to see and hear your peers. Swap war stories, examine possible solutions to the challenges you're facing as employers or join the 'what I wish I'd known' debate.

Alternatively, take a break and have some fresh air, tutor the kids in maths or meditate for 30 minutes.

 

Government and medical Q&A

Dr Dipti Patel

Dr Dipti Patel

Chief Medical Officer
Foreign & Commonwealth Office

View Bio
Foreign & Commonwealth Office logo

Dr Dipti Patel

Chief Medical Officer , Foreign & Commonwealth Office

Dr Dipti Patel is a consultant in occupational medicine and a travel medicine physician. She is Director of the National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC), and the Chief Medical Officer at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). She is also an honorary lecturer in occupational medicine at the Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health at Manchester University. Previous roles include being a non-executive director at the Health Protection Agency, the director of clinical services at the Medical Advisory Service for Traveller’s Abroad, consultant occupational health physician at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and honorary clinical senior lecturer in occupational medicine at the Kent Institute of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dipti is an associate editor for Travel Medicine and Infectious Diseases, and co-editor of the ABC of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. She is a member of the UK Advisory Committee on Malaria Prevention, the Travel Subcommittee of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, and is on the WHO roster of experts in Travel Medicine. Dipti has a special interest in complex travellers, travel health education, medico-legal issues, and occupational travellers.

An unmissable chance to put your biggest concerns live to the experts. Interactive formula ensures the experts can see all delegate questions and will be addressing them live.

Continuity and contingency planning to return to work: what does a robust plan need and where should you be right now?

Mark Harris

Mark Harris

Independent Crisis Management & Communications Expert

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Mark Harris

Independent Crisis Management & Communications Expert

Over the last 24 years, Mark has worked at the forefront of crisis management and communications internationally and held senior positions with leading consultancies such Control Risks, and Burson-Marsteller. Mark has worked on over 150 incidents of kidnapping, extortion, and hostage taking around the world, and 19 cases of vessel hijack. He has also advised numerous companies as they have prepared to restructure, close facilities, or transfer operations to other countries. Mark regularly presents at conferences and is often invited to comment on news stories on a regular basis by news channels such as the BBC, ITN, Channel 4, CNN, NBC, and Al Jazeera.

A critical checklist for employers: what do you need to do for a safe and smooth transition to the new normal?

  • Physical safety checklist and new social distancing
  • Employee communications and concerns
  • Phasing in your staff returns
  • Policy considerations

Employee well-being and robust mental health

Our recent survey put supporting employee mental health at the top of most employers' agendas during and post-Covid-19. At a time when this key issue has never been more important, you will learn what best practise looks like:

  • What are the specific issues caused by furlough and how do you start to mitigate for them?
  • Building a robust mentally healthy workplace post-Covid-19
  • 'Them and us': reconciling a workforce divided by furlough, shielding and care duties
  • Vulnerable employees: warning signs and effective support strategies 

Interactive Q&A

Your outstanding questions addressed by the experts.

End of conference

Contact us to book or discuss our events & services

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Email icon info@bfi.co.uk

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