Thackray Williams

With the 2010 World Cup due to commence on 11 June employers could be forgiven for being concerned about the potentially damaging effect of the tournament on productivity and performance in the workplace.
Whilst the timings of the England matches fit in well with UK working patterns many employers remain concerned in anticipation of employees taking time off to watch matches and spending work time discussing the progress of the tournament at length and following it closely on the internet. The challenge ahead for employers is to finely balance minimum disruption to their business, whilst at the same time seeking to avoid damaging work place morale.
Employers therefore need to plan ahead and have a strategy in place to deal with pressure from those employees eager to support their favourite team. Once employers have decided a strategy for the World Cup period, this should be communicated with clarity to all employees so as to give those who want to watch the football the opportunity to make arrangements to do so. Employers may find that employees that do not wish to watch the World Cup are prepared to work overtime or swap shifts with employees that do.
Employers are likely to receive an increased number of requests for time off work during the World Cup period and consideration should be given to how these will be handled. Failure to do so may result in disgruntled employees calling in “sick,” watching the matches on their PC or taking unauthorised absence.

 Advice to employers when handling requests for time off include:
• Flexible working – where possible employers should be flexible, for example by altering the start and finish times during the working day and allowing employees to take the relevant days or half days off as part of their annual leave entitlement. Employers may also wish to consider allowing employees to take unpaid leave during the World Cup however, they should be aware that this may result in employers receiving requests in the future with regard to taking off unpaid leave to watch other sporting events such as the Olympics and tennis championships.
• Communication – practically it may not be possible for employers to allow all requests for time off work, if for example all employees in one department wish to watch the same match. Employers should speak to their employees early on to determine how you hope to manage leave and working hours, i.e. requests will be dealt with on a first come first serve basis. 
• Consistency – employers will need to exercise their discretion objectively when dealing with requests for time off work/annual leave/unpaid leave and must ensure consistency with any approach they chose to adopt. In particular, employers should avoid favouritism and must not inadvertently treat those who are not interested in the football less favourably.
• Clarity – employers should be clear about what they expect from their employees in terms of attendance and performance during the World Cup. Managing employees’ expectations and communicating these effectively will enable employers to keep their employees onside.

Employers that are unable to offer flexible working may decide to allow employees to listen to matches on the radio or watch them on the television at work. This may not be appropriate for many businesses and consideration will need to be given to the disruption this may cause to the rest of the office, e.g. people who need to make telephone calls. Employers may want to reserve discretion to remove this benefit if the disruption to colleagues or clients turns out to be too much although consideration should be given by employers to the ill will that will be caused if a match is switched off part-way through a game.

Many employers will remain concerned about employees who abuse their flexibility by calling in sick or simply not turning up for work. Once employers have determined a strategy for requests for time off/flexible working during the World Cup period this should be communicated to employees in either an email or memo. Employers at this time should make it clear to all employees that any unauthorised absences/abuses of the company’s sickness policy will be dealt with under the company’s disciplinary procedure (if one is in place), which if upheld could have serious disciplinary consequences. Employers may also chose to inform employees that they require any employees who take sick leave during the World Cup period (particularly on the day or the day after England games) to provide evidence of their sickness absence, such a doctor’s certificate. This should hopefully act as a deterrent to employees inclined to “pull a sickie”.

There are a number of other issues that may arise during the World Cup period and employers should give consideration to the following:

• Internet & Email – there is likely to be an increase in the use of social networking sites (Facebook and Twitter) and the Internet and employers should think about re-circulating their Internet/IT policies.
• Drinking & Alcohol related offences – many employers have a clear policy on “no-drinking at work” but is this policy clear on how the company manage employees that come into work hung over? Guidance should be provided to employees on this matter as well as how employers will handle potential criminal issues if employees get involved with football hooliganism or violence connected with excessive drinking.
• Discrimination – employers should not assume that only male employees are fans of football or that employees of other nationalities will not want to watch their countries play.
• Health & Safety at Work – employers who invite clients to watch matches on their premises should be mindful of their obligations with regards to health and safety and occupiers liability legislation. Employers should ensure that their venue does not present any health and safety risks and that their insurance policies cover such an event. 

The World Cup period will cause less disruption to those employers who are prepared for the likely employment situations that may arise.

For further advice and information contact, please contact Emma Thompson on 0208 290 0440 or email: emma.thompson@thackraywilliams.com