Top Tips for Employers – Navigating Summer 2024 Sporting Events and Annual Leave

With a summer of sporting events, Rabika Basran of the Gardner Leader Employment team suggests what employers might consider when receiving competing annual leave requests and what issues may arise.

• increased requests for annual leave;
• requests to work flexibly i.e. to reduce working hours, work alternative hours or work from home;
• usage of working time and company equipment to live stream events (in some cases from illegal websites);
• lower performance or productivity during certain hours / days;
• disgruntled employees who cannot take time off or who are not interested in sport;
• intoxicated employees;
• inappropriate conduct – either in the form of unwanted touching (hugs) or comments about another team’s nationality, which may be discriminatory;
• lateness and absenteeism.

What can employers do?

If employers want to support employee requests for time off or flexible working or simply support viewing events live, whether that is to maintain company morale, to allow employees to enjoy significant moments in the sporting calendar, or to promote engagement amongst their workforce  then we consider below a number of options as to how this can be achieved:

• Consider temporary flexible working provisions, such as shorter lunch breaks or early start and finish times, or allow employees to make up for any lost time;
• Let employees know in advance if there are any periods when they cannot take leave;
• Ensure any formal flexible working requests are complied with;
• Manage competing requests for annual leave fairly and in a non-discriminatory manner;
• Follow up with staff if they are absent unexpectedly (or following refusal of annual leave), consider request for medical evidence or a ‘return-to-work’ catch-up to explore concerns, you may then consider disciplinary action if there are concerns as to whether the reasons given are genuine, or if the employee is not telling the truth;
• Assign a staff or meeting room to stream certain sporting events to allow employees to watch for events that are time-limited, ‘one off’ or socially significant and inform staff of guidelines relating to this;
• Discuss team availability and capacity ahead of time to ensure the team can meet business needs;
• Have up to date policies regarding usage of internet, company property, alcohol consumption and general obligations regarding availability during working hours, whether that’s in the office or at home (employers may be minded to ask their IT department to set barriers on browsing so there are only limited, approved accessible streaming sites available) and ensure these are clearly communicated to employees and they are reminded of what is and is not acceptable behaviour;
• Remind employees of their obligations regarding availability, informing management and seeking permission if they plan on being unavailable for a short period of time, and direct them to specific policies where relevant;
• Remember to be mindful of employees who are not sports fan and ensure your approach does not appear unfavourable or indirectly discriminatory.

Conclusion

Whilst the above options may work for some employers, they may not work for everyone; it will very much depend on the number and nature of the workforce and business demands.  If any changes are to be made to working arrangements it should be made clear that these will be on a temporary basis only. Employers should be clear on timeframes and communicate with their entire workforce (not just those they think might be interested). Employers should also deal with competing requests consistently, fairly and in a timely manner.

Now is a good time, if you have not already done so, to send a note to staff covering the above issues to help manage expectations.

Should you have any questions about the above, or if you require tailored advice, please contact our Employment Team at www.gardner-leader.co.uk/business/employment/