Olé, Olé, Olé – National Sporting success and its effect on absence levels

June 2016

Now that the Euro 2016 Football championships have kicked off, and the Olympics in Rio is due to run during the course of August, any form of national sporting success is likely to have an impact on absence levels and productivity. As such we have set out below some steps that employers can take to minimise the effects.

Annual Leave Policy

All employers should have in place a clear annual leave policy. This policy should set out the amount of annual leave each employee is entitled to and how and when they ought to request same. By ensuring this policy is effectively communicated to employees they will be aware that if they require annual leave for the purpose of watching or attending sporting fixtures such requests should be made in accordance with the policy.

Absence/Sick Leave Policy

Having clear procedures in place should ensure that all employees know exactly when they should call in to report their absence and to whom they should make that call. This policy should specify when Doctors Certificates will be required, it may be that they are required after a certain number of days absence or if the absence occurs on certain days, such as Mondays or Fridays. As part of this policy you should also include a Return to Work interview. This has a very practical effect of deterring casual absences. At this interview the total number of days absent should be noted and consideration should be given as to whether the employee followed the correct procedures in relation to notification and certification.

Flexibility

With many fixtures scheduled during the afternoon or early evening employers may consider allowing employees to work flexible hours on those days, starting their working day earlier to ensure they can finish up in time to watch the match or event or working additional hours at another time.

Fan Zone

Finally for employers wishing to capitalise on the positive emotions of national sporting success they may consider transforming their offices into official fan zones embracing the big screens and national jerseys as the official uniform.

For more information, contact your usual Whitney Moore contact or Emma Richmond in our Employment Group.