With the nation about to be struck by World Cup fever, the REC is offering some timely advice to its members on the regulations governing time off during sporting events, including staff, who go off “sick” or take “duvet days” during the tournament.
A new model policy has now been published for employers to make employees aware of where they stand on absences and other behaviour while the tournament is on and especially when the team they support is playing.
Commenting on the new model document, Fiona Coombe, the REC’s Director of Professional Development said:
“Employers need to ensure that effective policies covering major sporting events including the World Cup are in place. In particular, they should make it clear that they are monitoring attendance more closely during the tournament. Should an employee’s sickness absence then be directly linked to football fixtures, an investigation may take place and they may be subject to disciplinary action.”
She said employers should be realistic about employees’ enthusiasm to watch the games while trying to ensure minimum staffing levels are maintained. So providing a range of options such as encouraging employees to take paid or unpaid annual leave on relevant match days on a first come, first served basis, and offering flexible working or even screening matches in the workplace may provide for a more enjoyable World Cup for all, even if England do not win.
The new policy document “Time Off for Sporting Events” is just one of the REC’s new suite of model documents launched last month and are available free of charge to all REC Corporate Members. To view the documents, please visit the website http://www.rec.uk.com/model-docs.
