With the world cup well under way and a couple of weeks left to go has this had an impact on your business?
The main issues affecting both employee and employer will be around requests for annual leave, sickness absence and website use during working hours. These issues aren’t just relevant for the World Cup, they are worth bearing in mind for any major sporting event.
Flexibility, from both employer and employee throughout such periods is key to a productive business and engaged workforce. It is important to have clear policies for annual leave and sickness absence. You may wish to be more flexible with regard to annual leave around the major sporting event periods, but it is important to let staff know that this flexibility is temporary. All leave requests should be considered fairly by employers. The company sickness absence policy will still apply during this time and should be operated fairly and consistently for all staff.
There may be an increase in use of social networking sites and unapproved internet use. Employers should have a clear policy regarding internet use in the workplace for all employees and if you are monitoring internet usage then this must be made clear to all employees under the data protection regulations.
You may also wish to consider your company’s drinking and alcohol policy – how will you manage employees you come in to work hung-over or still under the influence?
For more information go to www.acas.org.uk