A new report commissioned by a major information availability firm has found that a significant number of company disaster recovery plans overlook the need to protect staff.

The study highlights outbreaks of disease, staff kidnapping and disruptions to public communications and transport systems as major potential disruptions to the productivity of an organisation.

"Business continuity is not only about IT," said Peter Thomson, director of the Future Work Forum at Henley Management College. "There needs to be a human recovery plan, and it should involve human resources and facilities managers."

He added that there was a prevailing tendency among many firms to assume that staff will always be available, when in reality human risk is as pressing as any technology-based aspects of recovery and continuity plans.

According to the London Chamber of Commerce just 41 per cent of FTSE 250 companies are full prepared for forced relocation from their premises.

And research for Connect in 2007 found that the majority of UK businesses interested in Disaster Recovery systems cite protection of their critical applications and data as their primary motivation.