If an employee is genuinely ill, they will be entitled
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to ordinary sick pay details of which should be set out in the contract of employment, a separate sickness policy, or both.
Following a period of absence of seven days, an employer can obtain a doctor's certificate to confirm if the employee has caught the flu. Check your policies to determine what, if anything, you should be paying.
Employers have an obligation to implement systems that involve curbing the spread of the flu as far as is reasonably possible. Under these circumstances, employers should consider allowing employees to work from home if appropriate, although, clearly, this will not be possible for truck drivers.
If there is a pandemic and the government advises everyone to stay at home, you may still have to pay your employees. The definitive answer on payments will depend on what you've put in your policies. Consider reserving the right not to pay an employee who does not attend work, but remember that this might create much bad feeling.