Posted: April 3rd, 2010 - 1:15pm by Doug Powell

In April 2007, 135 patrons of the Ffynnon Wen pub in Cardiff, Wales, became sick with norovirus.

Public health types have just published a report, concluding that sick staff likely had returned to work too soon after being ill and were still infectious, unintentionally contaminating customers’ food.

Don’t go to work if you’re sick.

Simon Royal, one of the food poisoning victims, is not happy. He plans to sue Marston’s Inns and Taverns, the company that owns the Ffynnon Wen in Thornhill, Cardiff, and criticized local council for taking so long to publish a full report into the outbreak.

The official report has recommended the council does not take legal action against the pub or the manager because of “insufficient evidence collected during the investigation.”

Investigators discovered two staff members who had suffered from a stomach bug could have returned to work within 48 hours and before they were fully symptom-free, in contravention of the company’s fitness-to-work policy.

Policies are nice, but only if they are enforced.