Large sporting events with big crowds and people gathered around televisions across the world was something we never thought we would see again.

But, post-pandemic, they are definitely back with a bang! With the Women’s Rugby World Cup just finished, the Men’s Football World Cup ongoing, the Men’s Rugby World Cup in September 2023 and the many annual sporting events such as Wimbledon coming up, there’s something for all sports fans in the not too distant future.

You might wonder though, what do large sporting events have to do with employment law?

According to statistics by Quinyx, a workforce management technology specialist, the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil resulted in an estimated 131 million lost working days globally due to people skipping work to watch the matches and celebrating (or commiserating!) so much that they were unable to work the next day [1]. During the 2016 Euros, the England against Wales game alone is estimated to have cost the UK economy around £269 million in unauthorised leave.

Unusually, the FIFA World Cup 2022 is taking place now across November and December rather than the summer months and, with the time difference between Qatar and the UK, some matches will take place during the standard working day as opposed to the usual evenings and weekends.

Lost working hours is not just limited to football though - BrightHR, a global HR consultancy highlighted in 2020 “that summer sporting events in 2015, including Wimbledon and the Ashes, cost UK businesses at least £100m in lost productivity due to “questionable” sick days or a lack of concentration for long periods of time during the working day." [2]

With that in mind, here are our top tips on what employers can do to manage absenteeism in relation to large sporting events and keep their key players engaged:

• Consider flexibility around working hours – could employees start and finish earlier? And given the time difference, many matches will be on at lunchtime so could employees take an extended lunch break and work their hours up? It would be important to make it clear to employees this is a temporary measure if this was put in place.
• Consider fairness in relation to annual leave requests – the best approach is perhaps a “first come first served” policy”.
• Be alert to absences when matches are on as well as the following day. Use your absence policy to manage these absences, including holding a return to work meeting with employees to discuss their absences.
• Unfortunately, with many sports there are a small minority who use sport as an excuse for anti-social behaviour and for inappropriate posts on social media. It is therefore key to ensure employees are aware of the implications of any such behaviour and ensure they are familiar with your social medial policy.
• Avoid discrimination – for example, don’t assume that only men will want to watch games. Make it clear that offensive or racist remarks are not acceptable and can lead to disciplinary action.
• It may seem counterintuitive but putting the matches on television in the office or on the radio could be a good way to manage absenteeism. You could arrange events to watch the events in the office and use it as a way to bring colleagues together (especially given the last few years!)

If you need an independent and impartial referee to discuss any concerns with, please do get in touch!

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