Swine Flu warning for small firms

A FURTHER escalation of the swine flu outbreak could be the  “last straw” for struggling small businesses, accountancy firm Horwath Clark Whitehill says.

The firm says businesses large and small should be preparing contingency plans to cope with possible widespread school closures this autumn, which will impact the business community as parents are forced to take take time off work.

More than 100,000 new cases of the illness were confirmed in England in last week, and the rate is set to increase according to health chiefs.

Steve Livingston, partner at the firm’s Manchester office said: “Since the first outbreak of swine flu was reported we have been ensuring that as a firm we will have sufficient staff support in place should the outbreak become a pandemic, as anticipated.

“As more than  a third of our staff has children, we need to ensure should staff need time off to look their children, that our clients won’t be adversely affected. 

“This in turn got us thinking about the negative impact swine flu could have on businesses and how companies, who don’t have the resource in place, will keep afloat during this difficult period.

“Couple this crisis with the ongoing recession and we fear it could be the last straw for some businesses.”

HCW has developed an outsourcing package for any businesses that may need to temporarily draw in additional business and accountancy support.