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The HR implications of the 2024 summer of sport!

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On 14 June 2024, the final tournament of the Men’s UEFA Euro 2024 competition kicks off a month of football that is sure to make an impact, in one way or another, on many workplaces throughout the UK. And that’s not it. This summer we will also see tennis at Wimbledon, the Olympics, the Paralympics, and the Men’s T20 cricket World Cup. In this feature, Croner-i Technical Writer, Stacie Cheadle, outlines the HR implications that can arise during international sporting events of this kind.


This year, the final Men’s UEFA Euro tournament will be held in Germany. Of the home nations, England and Scotland have made it through to this final stage and Scotland will be part of the first match on 14 June, facing Germany. The last match of the group stages is on 26 June; if neither England nor Scotland are successful, the last game a home nation will play will be England v Slovenia on 25 June. If, however, they do make it through, there is the potential of matches all the way to 14 July. Hot on its heels, there will be the Open and then the Olympics, extending the summer of sport into months, rather than weeks.


Therefore, potentially employers could see a considerable amount of disruption and distractions caused by the various sporting events. It’s important to be prepared for this, and to take proactive steps to minimise any negative effects this could have. Below, we look at the potential HR implications of the 2024 summer of sport and how to manage them.


Handling holiday requests

It will be necessary to balance the needs of the business against those employees wanting time off during this period. With the Men’s Euros, there are matches starting at 2pm, 5pm and 8pm throughout the tournament, including on weekdays, so there is the potential for many businesses to be affected by requests for time off to watch matches.

As is always the case, employers have flexibility to refuse annual leave requests, decide when leave can or cannot be taken, and how it is taken. This doesn’t change just because there is a major sporting event going on. However, care will still need to be taken to ensure that any annual leave decisions during the period of the championship are made fairly and without bias towards nationality. A flat refusal is unlikely to be received well, and it’s important to remember the wellbeing aspects of taking annual leave that may be particularly relevant during this summer.

HR or line managers can assess the situation on a case-by-case basis to determine whether leave can be taken at any given time and by any number of people at once. They will also be able to determine the likelihood of work being reshuffled around the team when a member is on leave, or whether those going on leave can meet their deadlines before their holiday begins.


Employees wanting to watch events

Employers will need to manage this carefully. There may be many employees wanting to watch the action, and this won’t be limited just to home nation games and events; it would be unfair and potentially discriminatory to limit opportunities to watch the sport to only the UK.

The decision for who does get to watch should also be made fairly. It may be that it is possible to show events during work and allow staff to time their breaks around certain events or allow them to adjust their start/finish times around events they want to watch, so that they are in a position to work as soon as it is finished.


Unexpected absences during the tournament

It may be advisable to inform staff that attendance levels will be monitored throughout the summer and especially when there is a big event happening, to deter those who may be thinking of taking a day off regardless of whether they have had it authorised or not. Employees should be aware that any unauthorised absences will be classed as a form of misconduct, resulting in disciplinary action if this occurs.


Embracing this period

Allowing a little fun in the workplace is likely to help employee engagement. Having a dedicated fun day with prizes or even assigning different sports or countries to each team/department and letting them decorate their area appropriately could be a good way to keep morale high in the workplace.

Employers may want to devise a way of keeping staff up to date with scores, both to show employees that they recognise the importance of the event, but also to discourage employees considering pulling a “sickie”. This doesn’t have to involve an unregulated free-for-all, where employees can watch events on their computers or phones, but it could mean assigning one person to keep track of scores and disseminate the information to others. Other ways include screening events in the workplace or allowing a radio — a licence may be needed to do this, however.


Employees engaging in “banter” and the risk of discrimination

Even fun events in the workplace genuinely supported by employers can create some disharmony, and to avoid this care should be taken to ensure all teams are represented within the organisation and are given equal billing so that some staff are not made to feel less important than others.

The events this summer feature teams and individuals from many countries. With many businesses having diverse workforces, it is likely that at one point or another people from many different employees’ home nations will be taking part in an event. Whilst this can lead to light-hearted rivalry, careful monitoring needs to be in place to ensure no offence is caused. Reminding employees of the expectations on them and having a zero-tolerance approach, and acting on it, to behaviour that could be deemed as harassment will work towards discouraging potentially discriminatory behaviour.


Making it through to the semi-finals

On a final note, the Government has decided that in England and Wales, should either Scotland or England get through to the semi-finals, premises already licensed until 11pm for the sale of alcohol for consumption on site can remain open for an extra two hours on nights when either team plays. Note, this will not apply in Scotland or Northern Ireland, where licensing laws are a devolved matter.

For businesses which are permitted to stay open, this could create issues with staffing for the additional two hours, especially where employees are reliant on public transport that won’t be running at 1am. Asking staff to work longer is the best approach, but if that does not yield enough cover to remain open, it may be necessary to rely on an appropriate contractual clause to either change hours or require mandatory overtime. However, it must be reasonable to do so.

It could also have a knock-on effect for opening the premises the next day, as employees must have 11 hours’ rest between shifts to comply with the Working Time Regulations. Where an employee who worked late was supposed to be opening the next day, this could either lead to a later opening or a breach of the regulations, unless another employee is willing to cover for them.


Next steps

However employers choose to manage this summer, it is worth implementing, updating and reminding employees of any relevant policies and procedures that might need to be relied upon should something untoward happen in connection with the tournament. Whether it be policies on sickness absence, absence notification, annual leave or internet usage, employers are advised to make sure all staff are aware of the rules so they know what the minimum standards are that they must adhere to. This way, they cannot allege that they did not know that they were breaking a rule.


If you have any queries in relation to the information above, please contact your Payroll Pal today:


0191 605 2008




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