Who's looking forward to the Rugby World Cup 2019?

As a huge rugby fan, I quite simply cannot wait for the Rugby World Cup 2019 to start on Friday – by this time next week all of the home nations will have played their first match..! However, with 20 different nationalities involved, and with the competition being held in Japan, there are a wide range of kick-off times from 6am- 12pm which means the tournament has the potential to impact workplaces around the country.

Most employers will have experienced cases of staff unexpectedly being struck down with a mystery illness following a big sporting event – arriving late or hung-over to work (or not arriving at all!) after a day and night of celebrating their team's win – but it is well worth doing a bit of work beforehand to think about all the potential issues and putting a preventative plan in place to help ensure a happy workplace for everyone during the tournament.

I’ve therefore pulled together a number of steps employers can take:

Unpaid or annual leave

Consider allowing employees to take unpaid time off work to watch matches or consider requests for short periods of annual leave. Employers should ensure employees are informed in advance whether requests for leave will be unpaid or part of their annual leave and how requests will be considered, for example on a first come first served basis. Requests should be treated consistently.

Let employees know that if time off or holiday requests are refused and they subsequently fail to attend work, this will be treated as an unauthorised absence for which they may be disciplined (unless they can demonstrate it was for another reason e.g. genuine sickness).

Shift swaps

If employers operate a shift system, introducing a shift swap scheme enables employees to arrange their shifts around the matches they are interested in, provided appropriate levels of cover can be maintained (and subject to the Working Time Regulations 1998). For example, if employees are scheduled to work on a particular day, they might want to swap that day with a colleague so that they can watch the games that involve their teams.

Introduce a temporary flexible hours system

This could allow employees to alter their hours to accommodate match times – for example, extended or early lunch breaks; starting work later; or finishing work early. Make sure that core business hours are covered and employees are aware that they will need to make up the time another day.

Screening matches on work premises

Some employers may see the Rugby World Cup as an opportunity for team building and choose to screen matches on-site – for example, the England v USA match, which kicks off at 1145am on Thursday, 26 September. However, be aware that non-rugby fans who choose not to watch (and are left to staff the office) may not be so happy about such an arrangement!

Furthermore, employers need to be aware that in a diverse workforce (and with all of the home nations involved in the tournament) not everyone will be interested in the same matches, so they may have requests to screen other matches. 

Also, with such a large number of teams involved, expect a bit of friendly banter at work – whilst friendly rivalries are par for the course in the game of rugby, be warned that some colleagues may take it too far (especially if alcohol is involved!). At its worst, and although rare, this can lead to grievances or discrimination claims.

As an alternative, employers could put in place facilities that enable employees to listen to (or watch) games online on work or personal devices. Employers should anticipate an increase in the use of social media sites, or an increase in website usage, during the Rugby World Cup. Employees should be reminded of any policies or procedures dealing with web use in the work place and it should be made clear what is or isn’t acceptable.

Be clear on your policies

The key to successfully managing employees during the Rugby World Cup is to ensure that whatever measures an employer decides to implement, these are clearly communicated to all staff. It is also advisable to remind employees that turning up to work drunk, or so hung over they are incapable of carrying out their duties, will be considered a disciplinary offence and that levels of sickness absence will be closely monitored for the duration of the Rugby World Cup.

Ultimately employees have no 'legal right' to take time off work to watch rugby matches and it is for the employer to decide how flexible they want to be.

Enjoy it..!

Rugby is an inclusive game, so this is a great opportunity for everyone (including ‘non-rugby fans’) to get behind their country (or adopted country) during the competition – encouraging staff to enjoy the spectacle of the Rugby World Cup will hopefully help boost morale. If its not too late, why not introduce a sweepstake for a bit of fun at work?