Business continuity after Buncefield

Nic Paton exmines the role local HR professionals played in the aftermath of December's oil depot explosion at Buncefield.

This is the first of a two-part round-up of how HR can help organisations cope with a disaster or emergency.The second part will focus on the findings of forthcoming research from IRS, looking at the part HR can play in helping organisations back onto their feet after an emergency.

  • Coping with a big bang    Writing in Personnel Today, Nic Paton speaks to senior HR professionals at a number of local employers directly affected by the Buncefield explosion, including Hertfordshire County Council, online retailer ASOS, high-street electrical goods retailer DSG International and McDonald's.

  • Business continuity plans need greater emphasis on people    IRS Employment Review previews the key findings of the forthcoming IRS survey of business continuity plans.

    Also

    Crisis management and contingency planning
    Is your business continuity plan up to scratch?    Employers were quick to implement business continuity plans in response to the terrorist attacks in London on 7 July 2005, but many experienced difficulties accounting for staff and handling the volume of related communications, according to research.

    Pandemic flu - Forward planning is essential    With experts warning that a flu pandemic is a case of when not if, employers should take steps now to adapt existing disaster recovery plans to match the very specific workplace health and resourcing issues that could arise.

    Legal Q&A: Dealing with severe weather conditions    Mandy Laurie of Dundas & Wilson sets out best practice on attendance and absence issues arising from adverse weather conditions, including whether to dock employees' pay for days they are unable to get into work.

    Slack CEOs fail to take serious view of security   Employers' groups have admitted that many chief executives are not taking responsibility for the security of their staff and are urging them to do so immediately.

    UK employers are taking the terror threat seriously   HR & Compliance Centre looks at the key findings of a 2004 study on terrorism and business continuity from Janusian Security Risk Management in conjunction with RAND Corporation and the Financial Times.

    State of emergency    IRS Employment Review consults a panel of 11 public and private sector organisations on their plans for emergency situations and subsequent business recovery.

    Preparing for the worst    Is it possible to train for the unexpected? Writing in Training Magazine, Elaine Essery looks at how training professionals can put the case for coaching in crisis management.

    Five ways to improve workplace security   By Nic Paton, writing on personneltoday.com.

    MI5 guidance on limiting threats from inside your organisation    Personnel Today reports on the launch of an MI5 website offering security guidance to businesses.

    Terrorism: how it affects HR    IRS Employment Review looks at the findings of a study on the immediate responses of US employers to the 11 September 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.

    Workplace safety post 9/11    Cindy Elmore, Bo Kremer-Jones and Liz Simpson explore long-term safety implications for HR.

    Counselling
    How to deal with trauma and How to counsel colleagues   By Scott Beagrie, writing in Personnel Today.

    Time to grieve    What rights do employers and employees have when a worker is faced with a bereavement? By Linda Goldman and Joan Lewis, writing in Occupational Health.

    How to deal with the death of an employee    From HR & Compliance Centre's How to service.