Legal Ease

The news has been filled with the antics of footballers recently, so I’m sure it won’t come as a surprise to you that 2010 World Cup will start on the 11th of June with the final being held on the 11th July.

There is plenty of evidence to suggest that the World Cup can have a negative impact on absence rates and since the last World Cup, technology has become more sophisticated, which gives employers new headaches to consider. It is difficult to determine whether absence is associated to watching the football or whether workers are too hung over to attend work the day after a game, but it is wise to plan early to minimise the impact the World Cup could have on your business.

Conduct a risk assessment of how the World Cup could potentially affect your business and what you can do to reduce the impact. Establish what options you have available to you that will support good attendance and high productivity over the period:

· How many staff can you have off work at one time in each area of your business?
· Can you allow staff to take half-day holidays - (if this is not your usual policy)?
· Can you allow staff to leave early for games that start in the afternoon? Will this time be unpaid, holiday or will they be asked to make the time up on a mutually agreed date?
· Can you alter your start and finish times to accommodate games?
· Is it possible to have a television in the staff room, where employees can watch the game and then return to work, making up any lost time? HOWEVER, If this is the case, make sure you have a licence if you have bought in a television especially for this event!
· Encourage staff to give plenty of warning of games they would like to watch to allow you to plan and to reduce disappointment. Ensure your approach to authorising time off is fair to all employees.
· Re-communicate your Company Policies that maybe relevant to this event, including Absence, Alcohol at Work and Communications (which covers the Internet and use of telephones/mobiles) during this period and ensure that the same rules apply to all - male and female staff.
· Encourage employees to get in their holiday requests if they want to take holiday over the World Cup period, as you will only be able to sustain your normal amount of holiday absence.
· Remember, in our multi-cultural society, it won’t just be England games your employees will be concerned about.
Communicate that you will do your best to accommodate individual requests, wherever possible, but the business will monitor levels of attendance and any sickness absences will be investigated if they coincide with football matches.

Remind employees that attendance at work while under the influence of alcohol or drugs would be a disciplinary matter and that appropriate action could include dismissal.

It is a danger for employers to assume that so long as their workers are at their desk, there is no problem. Employees maybe at their desk, but are they working? Remember it is easy to now access and watch football matches on the Internet via a PC or telephone! Football followers may also spend time during their working day keeping up to date with team selections, injury scares and other teams' results.

It is also worth making sure that employees know they are not permitted to gamble whilst at work. Planning ahead will give you time to review all your relevant policies, make any necessary amendments and communicate to all workers what is classed as unacceptable behaviour in plenty of time.

It’s not all bad news; there is research that suggests that productivity actually increases when employees are feeling good about their national team, especially during the build up to a World Cup. A flexible approach will motivate employees and, if managed well, a business can feel the benefits of a motivated workforce long after the World Cup has ended.