One in eight employees could be off work with swine flu by the end of August, according to a leading UK business group.

British Chambers Of Commerce is to host a special seminar today on swine flu amid increasing fears about the illness's impact on industry.

Tomorrow, a report from House of Lords Science and Technology select committee is expected to attack the UK Government for failing to set up a flu telephone helpline by April as planned, and will question the quality of advice offered to vulnerable groups, such as pregnant women.

If one in eight employees were to be absent by the end of next month, the chambers of commerce say it would have a "clear impact" on productivity and the battle to recover from recession.

The group will host a seminar for employers who will be able to question medical and employment experts.

David Frost, the group's director-general, said: "If the projected figures for the number of people contracting swine flu comes to pass, companies will be hit by intense periods of staff absence.Both supply and demand could be impacted and businesses need to be prepared." Mr Frost said firms should start thinking about allowing staff to work from home and make more use of the internet if offices become badly affected by swine flu.

Iain McMillan, director of the Confederation of British Industry in Scotland, said the CBI in Scotland has been working with the Scottish Government and is monitoring the potential impact on the workforce. He said: "It seems to be a useful thing, but we are not planning a similar seminar. If we are going to see a big upsurge in cases it is something of a concern and we are monitoring the situation. We need to make sure all the contingency measures are in place to deal with swine flu without scaring the population unnecessarily."

He said most manufacturing industries are highly automated now and may be able to manage a hit in terms of absences, but the service industry and small businesses could be affected. He added: "If a very small business with two or three employees finds all three, for example, came down with swine flu it would be very difficult to see how the business can do anything other than close its doors. It is very difficult to predict and it is up to individual businesses to look at generic advice supplied quite readily and make their own plans accordingly."

More than 100,000 people in the UK are estimated to have caught swine flu in the past week alone. Doctors in Stockholm, Sweden, are treating pregnant swine flu victim Sharon Pentleton, 26, who is described as "stable but still critical".

She was flown from Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock to Karolinska University Hospital to be given Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) after she suffered a rare and severe reaction to the virus and developed adult respiratory distress. No beds were available for the procedure that takes blood out of the body and oxygenates it before returning it.

Staff in Stockholm said the treatment would last several days while the lungs are allowed to rest. It has also emerged Scottish education chiefs could see £1.5m a day wiped off their budgets to cover for absent teachers.

Many of Scotland's councils have no contingency plans to cope financially with the expected explosion in HIN1 cases when schools return in three weeks after the summer break. Schools could be forced to close or double up on classes as they struggle to keep classrooms running over the next few months.

David Cameron, president of the Association of directors of Education in Scotland, said school closures could not be ruled out. He said: "There will be overspends on the education budget due to swine flu outbreaks, which will have to be met from council reserve and contingency budgets.

"However, if we got to the stage where these were taken below a safe level, we would be looking for a commitment that the Scottish Government would provide additional financial support."

UK Health Secretary Andy Burnham yesterday warned that public panic over swine flu could put unnecessary pressure on the NHS. He said people should be reassured the government's response was well planned.

He said: "It is very important for everybody to keep a sense of perspective. It has been a mild virus in the vast majority of cases, with relatively mild symptoms from which people recover fully fairly quickly. If people are made unnecessarily anxious, it makes the lives of NHS professionals, who are already under enormous pressure, far more difficult as people become unduly worried."

Ministers have also defended their response to the swine flu epidemic and denied that the launch of the new telephone and website assessment system had been delayed.

Peers in a select committee report are set to criticise the government for being too slow to set up the helpline. Scottish patients are being dealt with through NHS24.