Are you ready for the World Cup?

Tuesday 10 June 2014

Excitement and anticipation has arrived ahead of the FIFA World Cup. Tension is rising, players are ready to perform and fans are preparing to rejoice (or cry). However, the biggest sporting event in the world can pose as much as a problem for an employer as a penalty shootout can for the Three Lions.

‘World Cup fever’ results in an estimated 250 million working hours being lost.  Absenteeism, illness, hangovers and lateness are many of the symptoms of this unruly fever, which can cause businesses direct financial loss. Fingers crossed the disruption will be minimal for those that operate on a 9-5 rota, due to most games being played in Brazil after 5pm BST, but others will not be so lucky.  It is important that employers deal with these issues fairly and clearly to avoid disputes and to ensure the smooth running of their business.

Tips for Employers

Here are some handy tips that will help employers manage the summer of football with as little disruption as possible:

• Plan ahead. Be flexible in allowing employees to swap shifts or make up their hours.

• Make sure that no one is discriminated against. Special preference should not be given just to men for example or just those employees that wish to watch England. Employees of different nationalities wishing to support their home team must be offered the same flexibility.

• Ensure policies are clear, consistent and available (especially relating to the use of technology). Communicate to employees what you consider to be allowable before the World Cup starts. You could adopt a zero tolerance policy or allow employees to use the Internet to check scores during breaks.

• Make sure your servers can cope with the capacity. If you do allow employees to access live streaming of matches during work time, make sure that it is not to the detriment of your IT system.

• Install a TV for the games. This won’t be appropriate for every business but it could help to avoid a despondent workforce.

Set out your position in advance. Make it clear that hangovers or lateness will not be tolerated at work and will result in a disciplinary issue.

Finally, have fun – if you want to run an office sweepstake on who will be victorious, you can download our World Cup wall chart here.