Companies should dig out their major contracts and read the clauses on ‘force majeure’ to prepare for arguments that a swine flu pandemic could render contracts meaningless, a legal expert has said.

Commercial contracts carry ‘force majeure’ clauses which say that major unforseeable events outside of either party’s control can relieve companies of their contractual obligations.

Technology law expert David McIlwaine of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind OUT-LAW.COM, said that if swine flu becomes a major problem in the UK then companies might start to try to invoke force majeure clauses.

“If suddenly half your workforce is out sick and you are a major IT services company and obliged to deliver certain service levels then you might invoke the clause,” he said. “It becomes even more difficult because probably your customer is operating with staff working from home.”

McIlwaine said that there are no examples of companies going to court to enforce force majeure clauses in relation to plagues or illnesses, but that most cases are settled out of court.

The swine flue illness is already reported to be disrupting business. A Google call centre in Hyderaba in India was shut down last week and 100 workers sent home after one tested positive for the illness.

Personally I think the media (particularly the newspapers – the TV broadcasters seem to be slightly more responsible) are making a mountain out of a mole hill – huge headlines every time someone dies, but they don’t point out another 2000 people have recovered with no problems. Last I heard the total was up to 30 here in the UK, but more people die in a normal seasonal flu outbreak than have died so far (but I guess that doesn’t matter to the media because it’s mainly elderly people). The BBC also keep stressing that you shouldn’t worry because it’s people with underlying health conditions who are most at risk (no advice for those of us with underlying health conditions though), so that’s okay then… *sigh*

As usual everyone goes into panic mode and the slightest sniffle they’re convinced they’ve got it. We’ve already had four people at work who’ve apparently had it (including one who apparently started with it on Sunday but yet came back today looking decidedly perky *rolls eyes*). The supposed victims of swine flu they keep rolling out on the news all seem to be looking decidedly perky for someone who’s supposed to have flu. With ‘normal’ flu, if you have real flu, not just a bad cold (which many people seem to think is ‘flu’) you feel that ill you can hardly move!

The symptoms the government are listing are so vague that most people who are feeling unwell could be classed as having it. Based on the list of symptoms, with “headache”, “weakness and fatigue” and “aching muscles and joints” I could say I’d got it, but they’re symptoms I have most days, and if I decided I’d got flu every time I had those symptoms I’d never work!

The fact that they’re not actually testing for it means no-one’s got any real idea how many people have got it or had it, and I’d say the real number’s a hell of a lot lower than the figures they’re reporting.

This week at work those alcohol gel hand wash dispensers have appeared near all the doors and we’re supposed to use them to clean our hands every time we go out or come in. Hmmmm….like, yep, we’ve got absolutely no work to do and we’ve got time to go off and wash our hands every time we leave the office… *sigh*

Maybe, if as predicted, the second wave of the pandemic (if it comes) will be in a worse form, but at the moment I think it’s all something of an over-reaction. With previous pandemics like the flu outbreaks in the early 20th century there wasn’t anything like the medical care we have these days, or any sort of vaccines (nor did people fly around the world spreading these diseases), and many people lived in none too sanitary conditions anyway and weren’t as well nourished as we are nowadays, so were often more succeptable to all sorts of nasty bugs, and it was common for common conditions we class as “minor” conditions these days to kill people. We have better healthcare, on the whole our living conditions are a lot better these days, and we have fewer complications when we do get ill than our ancestors did. In the 1920s/1930s three of my grandparents’ siblings died from what are now “minor” conditions. The number of people affected by a condition these days isn’t necessarily an indication of the “seriousness” of it, at least here in the ‘west’ where living and healthcare standards are higher.

Anyway, in the meantime I had one of those informational emails this morning – it said…”If you get an email saying you can catch swine flu from tinned pork, just delete it because it’s spam”

The ad was shown during a commercial break at the Superbowl, and what I love about it is that it not only is it an excellent example of a company utilising the skills of it’s workforce, but I love the way that it’s about the deaf world and deaf culture, but that the hearing world’s included too, reversing the roles. It’s not making any big political statements, it’s not an infommercial on equality, just two deaf guys trying to figure out where Bob lives.Deaf culture has a long history, and has traditions, conventions, and jokes all of it’s own. I’ve worked with a fair few deaf signers in voluntary groups, and invariably I’ve found if I’ve been in a meeting with deaf signers, or on a training course, it’s the signers who are the funniest people in the room, and they don’t mind having a laugh at themselves.Another video I love is the video for Faithless’s “God is a DJ”, which features Maxi Jazz signing, and in the middle of the video, a group of signers talking heatedly, for no other reason that I can figure out than because he can.

Is it a message that the music goes beyond a dance theme, and that the lyrics go beyond just some catchy little tune? I don’t know. Faithless and Maxi Jazz are masters at writing lyrics though about things that really matter to them, and don’t shy away from difficult subject – their lyrics cover themes like racism, poverty, war, to name but a few. I’d love to know the thinking behind Maxi signing his way through “God is a DJ” though.

A couple of years ago though I was running a training course for deaf people on the internet; mainly looking at how the internet can be used for networking and exchanging information about equality and disability, and how to research information on the internet, but at the request of the participants, covering a bit about anti-virus software, how to spot dodgy sites and scams online, and such like too. Many of the deaf people attending courses run by the group I was working, we’d found were nervous about using the internet, and afraid of “doing something wrong”, and it was because of this my course was slotted into the end of the training schedule, to try and give them a little more confidence in exploring the web and discovering some of the wonders the web has to offer.

At the end of my presentation I showed that Faithless vid, partly as an example of one of the many things, and many types of media you can find online (and yeah, okay then – it was an excellent excuse to play a bit of Faithless ).

As it started some of the participants looked puzzled. One, who had a little hearing and was near the speakers said she could feel the vibrations from the speakers and pick up the beat of the music. “Music” they all started signing, and again they looked puzzled, no doubt thinking, why’s the crazy lady playing us music? We’re deaf! But as Maxi walked into the shot and began signing, one by one their faces lit up, and all eyes were trained on the screen, and on Maxi’s signs.

“I’ve never felt included in music before,” said one guy as we were packing up. “That was nice. I think I’m going to like finding out what’s on the internet!”

And by the way, if you didn’t “get” the joke in the PepsiCo ad, look again – the punchline’s right at the end.