Keeping food handlers who are unwell with a foodborne illness or its symptoms away from handling food until they are no longer a risk.
Keeping food handlers who are unwell with a foodborne illness or its symptoms away from handling food until they are no longer a risk. Staff illness exclusion is the practice of stopping a food handler from working with food when they are, or may be, carrying a foodborne illness. Under Standard 3.2.2 of the Food Standards Code, a food handler who knows or suspects they have a foodborne illness, or who has symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, or a sore throat with fever, must report this to their supervisor. Where there is a real risk of contaminating food, that person must not handle food. The reason is that many foodborne pathogens, such as norovirus, Salmonella and hepatitis A, are easily passed from an infected person to food through their hands or bodily fluids, sometimes even before the person feels very ill or after obvious symptoms have stopped. Exclusion protects customers by removing that risk at the source. It works alongside the food handler's own duty to report and the food business's duty to act on that report. In an Australian food business this means having a clear, well-known rule that unwell staff report symptoms and either stay home or are moved to duties away from open food, such as taking payments in a separate area. Supervisors decide, based on the symptoms and the tasks involved, whether the person can safely do any work. Some illnesses, like gastroenteritis, typically require exclusion until symptoms have fully resolved, and public health advice may recommend a clearance period after diarrhoea stops. Businesses support this by making it acceptable to report illness without penalty, covering the rules in induction and the food safety program, and keeping enough staff cover so people are not pressured to work sick. Where an enteric illness is confirmed, the business should follow the advice of the local public health unit, which may give specific guidance on when the person can return to food handling. A kitchenhand wakes with diarrhoea before an early shift. Following the venue's rule, he phones his supervisor rather than coming in. Because diarrhoea is a reportable symptom under Standard 3.2.2 and points to a possible enteric infection, the supervisor keeps him off food handling until he has been symptom-free, preventing a possible norovirus outbreak among customers.
Frequently asked questions
When must a food handler stay away from food?
When they know or suspect they have a foodborne illness, or have symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, or a sore throat with fever, and there is a risk of contaminating food. They must report it to their supervisor, who decides on suitable duties or exclusion.
Which symptoms must be reported under the Code?
Standard 3.2.2 specifically lists vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, and a sore throat with fever, as well as knowing you carry or may carry a foodborne illness. Conditions like infected skin sores or discharges from the ear, nose or eye should also be managed to prevent contamination.
Can a sick worker do other jobs instead of going home?
Sometimes. If a supervisor can assign duties with no risk of contaminating food, such as working away from open food, the worker may do those. The key test is whether there is any real risk of the illness reaching food.
When can an excluded worker return to food handling?
Generally once symptoms have resolved and there is no longer a risk of contaminating food. For some enteric illnesses, public health advice recommends a clearance period after symptoms stop. Follow your local public health unit's guidance for confirmed infections.
Whose responsibility is illness exclusion?
It is shared. The food handler must report symptoms, and the food business must act on the report by reassigning or excluding the person and ensuring they do not contaminate food. Both duties sit within Standard 3.2.2.
