NEWS: How a ‘World Cup Working Policy’ could help your business
This year’s World Cup in Qatar will bring plenty of excitement, trepidation and, for businesses up and down the county, some challenges too.
It is traditionally a time when employees can get suddenly struck down with mystery illnesses and, with kick-off times ranging from 10am to 7pm in Qatar, the opportunity for absenteeism to affect the workplace in the run up to Christmas is clear.
So, it’s worth putting some thought into adding a ‘Sporting Events Policy’ to your employee handbook and making sure all of your employees know about your stance.
The football World Cup is here
Do it well…and you can keep staff happy and add to your reputation as a reasonable employer.
Do it badly…and it could lead to disciplinary issues that go on long after the World Cup final in late December.
Some things to consider could be….
Allow employees to work from home
If hybrid working is already a thing at your place of work, could you let your staff work from home on the day of an England or Wales game on the premise that they make up the time either side of kick-off or on another day.
If hybrid working is not a thing at your business, consider introducing a ‘temporary flexible hours’ system to enable people to have a couple of hours ‘off’ to watch a game on the premise that they make up that time another day.
Screening World Cup matches at work
If you have a correct TV licence, you could consider putting the match on at work so people can see it there. Just bear in mind that your ‘fairness’ as an employer could come into question.
For example, if you have a multi-cultural workforce, why should just the England game be shown at work?
Remember, not everyone will want a football match in the office or workplace while they are trying to get some graft done.
And, worst case scenario, what if a particular result leaves bad blood between members of your staff from different countries?
Unfortunately, this option is not as easy as it may seem!
Unpaid or annual leave
Consider allowing employees short blocks of leave, whether that be unpaid, or as part of their yearly entitlement. Make sure they knew they need to apply for the time off and also that they know how the process is going to work whether that be ‘first come, first served’ or something else.
Also make sure they know that any refused requests must result in them turning up for work as normal.
Shift change
If you run a business that operates a shift system, consider letting staff change shifts with a colleague to allow them to watch a game featuring their country.
Just make sure that your core business has enough cover to allow this to happen.
Communicate
Ultimately, employees do not have the right to miss work for a game of football so, whatever policy you decide to implement, make sure you are clear, fair and allow staff enough time to think about any options that are offered to them.
Make sure you underline that any employees turning up drunk or missing work without a valid reason could face disciplinary action.
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