During holiday periods, one of the main assumptions of many business continuity plans – that key staff will be available and contactable – may not actually hold true.

A small amount of pre-planning could help avoid a situation where the ability to respond effectively is compromised.

Actions to consider include :

• Finding out when key staff will be on holiday, whether they are going away and whether (and, if so, how) they can be contacted;

• Appointing additional deputies to key people/roles (or even deputies to deputies) to ensure sufficient cover is maintained;

• Ensuring that anyone drafted in to cover temporarily is fully aware of their roles and responsibilities and is given any necessary training;

• Checking that contact details are up to date (both for usual and any temporary team members) and that any temporary changes to normal contacts are identified and recorded;

• Ensuring that any interim arrangements are communicated, particularly to "first responders" such as security or facilities staff.

Disasters and crises don’t take holidays. A bit of forethought could make the difference between success and failure if the plan has to be invoked whilst your key people are taking their well earned break.