Show Empower Employees Through Food Safety TrainingFood workers who go to work sick are a major cause of foodborne illness outbreaks. Use this training to teach your employees the importance of reporting symptoms and staying home from work when they are sick. Learning ObjectivesYou may choose to read these learning objectives with your employees as a part of the stand-up training. After this training, employees will be able to:
The FactsYou may choose to read these facts with your employees as a part of the stand-up training.
Training ActivitiesChoose the activities that will be most beneficial for your employees. Modify them as needed to fit the training needs of your establishment. The “Why” of Reporting IllnessDiscuss: Why is it important to report when you are sick? Do you remember which illnesses and symptoms you need to report before your shift begins? Watch: When to Stay Home video Display (optional): Hang up the Feeling Sick? poster near the time clock or door to remind your employees which symptoms to report before their shift begins. Symptoms ScenariosDiscuss: For which symptoms would you need to stay home? For which symptoms would you be assigned to work away from food? Watch (optional): Do I Need to Stay Home? video scenarios Analyze: If you are watching the video scenarios, pause the video before the answers are revealed so that your employees can guess what needs to happen. If you prefer, you can present your own food worker illness scenarios for employees to analyze. Display (optional): Display the Food Worker Illness Flowchart poster as a reminder for when a sick employee would need to stay home. If your establishment serves a highly susceptible population, stricter policies may apply. What Is Our Policy?Review: Review the employee health policy at your establishment. Discuss: Who should you contact when you are ill? How do we organize covering for a sick coworker’s shift? Invite: Ask employees to share their questions and concerns about the policy. Emphasize the importance of reporting illness honestly and staying home to prevent foodborne illness outbreaks. Following UpIf you suspect that an employee has come to work sick, approach them with a direct but sympathetic attitude. Express concern for their well-being and ask about their symptoms. If necessary, ask the employee to go home or reassign them to duties away from exposed food and food-contact surfaces. For example, you could assign an employee with a sore throat and a fever to clean floors and windows or to operate the cash register. Be careful not to punish employees for reporting when they are sick. It’s important that you send them home or restrict their work duties when appropriate, but do not express frustration with them. If employees feel that reporting illness will threaten their job security, they may not be honest with you about their symptoms. Make sure your shift managers and supervisors can answer questions that other employees may have about reporting symptoms and illnesses. Encourage employees to ask questions when they need help instead of guessing at the right answer. As needed, review this training with your employees. Training ResourcesThe When to Stay Home video describes what illnesses and symptoms must be reported to a food manager to keep customers safe. View the Spanish version of this video: Cuando Quedarse en Casa. The Do I Need to Stay Home? video scenarios present four hypothetical situations when food workers are feeling sick and aren’t sure if they should come to work. Pause the video to let your employees decide whether to tell the food workers “yes” or “no” and then resume the video to see what happens. View the Spanish version of this video: ¿Debo Quedarme en Casa? Print out the free Feeling Sick? poster and post it in the break area to remind food workers which symptoms they should report. The Food Worker Illness Flowchart poster is a handy resource to help managers remember when they should exclude or restrict a sick food worker. Answer the questions on the chart to arrive at the course of action recommended in the FDA Food Code. Note this resource does not cover when you should exclude or restrict employees if your establishment primarily serves a highly susceptible population. Did you use this stand-up training in your establishment? We’d love to get your feedback! Take a minute to do our feedback survey. — Alyssa Erickson |