What would you do if you couldn’t get in to your normal place of work because it had been flooded or damaged in some other way? Do you know where to go instead?

What would happen if there was a fire destroying important documents or specialist equipment in the building? Are copies kept elsewhere?

What if key staff were off sick for a long period? Who else could do their job?

Could you cope with computer data being corrupted or lost? Do you have backups, and are they kept separately?

How would the business cope if there were severe transport problems reducing the number of staff available? Do you know what the absolute priorities are?

Does your workplace or company have a plan in place to cope with unforeseen incidents? These are usually called “business continuity management” or “disaster recovery” plans. These decide, before an incident occurs, what must be done to protect the business, and by whom. It should also contain a contact list for staff, clients and suppliers so that you can still communicate in an emergency. If your company doesn’t have a plan, it could be your job that would be affected.

Help is at hand though, as there is free generic guidance and advice available from Greenwich Council’s Emergency Planning and Resilience Unit, including templates and documents to assist you. These can be found at:

www.greenwich.gov.uk/Business/SupportAndAdvice/PlanningForEmergencies.htm

or you can phone the team on 020 8921 6258, 5868, 5448 or 6339.