Employment Law Update (May 2010)
Is your workplace team fit for the World Cup?
The World Cup kicks off in less than a month and will run
through until mid - July and with one home team through to the
competition, there's sure to be strong interest and high spirits –
whether you're on their side or not!
The competition can't help but have an impact on the workplace,
whether it's extra requests for time off, unplanned absences,
requests for video-screens at work, name-calling and banter or even
behaviour outside the workplace.
What can employers do to make sure they win through? Here are a
few pre-match tips from our employment law and employee relations
experts.
1. Know your team
The best way to handle issues arising from the World Cup will be
different in each workplace. Men may be more interested in it than
women, for example. It's an international competition, and
many workplaces contain a variety of different nationalities.
Be sensitive to the needs of your whole workforce. Bear in mind
that they might not all support the home team – or even be
interested in football at all.
2. Have a game plan
The best teams always plan ahead, rather than letting problems
just happen - this applies in the workplace too. If you know your
team, you'll have a fair idea about who might be asking for time
off to watch the games.
A good idea is to take a look at the fixture list to work out
where the pressure points are likely to be, and then you can plan
your strategy. You might consider allowing an early start and early
finish where there's an afternoon game, for example, to avoid
problems of unplanned absence. You might also relax your usual
rules on holidays to accommodate more requests than usual on
certain days, but if you do, make it clear that this is the
exception rather than the rule.
3. Maintain team discipline
Your business has procedures in place for booking holidays and
for absence reporting, so make sure staff are aware of these
policies and apply them consistently – or make it clear how and why
you are relaxing them on this occasion.
Also bear in mind that high spirits in the workplace –
particularly between different nationalities – can quickly lead on
to unwelcome bullying and harassment. It's worth bearing in mind
that racial harassment includes harassment on the grounds of
nationality, and that England, Wales and Scotland count as separate
nations for these purposes. It's also worth knowing that harassment
is viewed in the eyes of the person who is being harassed, so be
sensitive to the needs of your whole workforce, and don't just
assume that all banter is harmless.
The post-match analysis
If everything doesn't go to plan, it's worth looking at what
went wrong – after all, the Olympics are coming in a couple of
years. It's never too late to improve behaviour in your workplace
and safeguard your business against the risk of claims.
Perhaps you need to look again at some of your workplace
policies and procedures. For example, does everyone adhere to the
holiday booking procedure or the procedure for notifying sickness
absence?
It might be the first time you've actually considered whether
some comments and banter in the workplace might have racial
undertones, and perhaps it's worth making sure your managers and
supervisors are properly trained to know what to look out for and
how to handle things when they hear, or are told about,
inappropriate language or comments being made. Remember, Mentor
offers training on all these matters.
Speak to our employment law team for further information.