Pictured: Stuart Thomas, Solicitor with GHP Legal

With the Rugby World Cup due to kick off in a few weeks time a Shropshire employment law specialist has issued guidance to employers regarding best practice principles to ensure they maintain productivity and keep employees' minds on the job.

Time differences mean that some key games played between September 10th and October 22nd could be shown on UK television during working hours, making them a potential disruption to businesses. During such highlights in the sporting calendar it is not uncommon for employers to see an increase in annual leave requests, sickness absence, use of non-work related websites and poor performance. But Stuart Thomas, a Solicitor with Oswestry law firm GHP Legal, believes the key to managing the situation is for employers to be flexible but firm and to try and reach an agreement which is acceptable to both parties and compliant with the terms of their employment contracts. 

"Clearly employers need to ensure their business needs are met," says Mr Thomas, "and clearly it is not always possible to accommodate employees' requests to change working hours or annual leave. However, employers can choose to take a more flexible approach by for example allowing workers to take annual leave when they want to. If this is contrary to their annual leave policy they should make it clear that this is a temporary measure only, and one that is at the discretion of the employer depending on business conditions at the time."

"A company's sickness policy should be applied fairly and consistently to all staff, so it would be a good idea for employers to monitor levels of attendance, sickness and lateness accordingly throughout such as World Cup events. They should remind staff that any unauthorised absences could result in disciplinary action."

"If it is convenient, employers could allow staff to come in a little later or finish earlier - and agree when the time can be made up. They could also consider allowing staff to listen to the radio at work or to swap shifts. Any changes to working hours should however be approved in advance."

"During big sporting events many employers see an increase in the use of Facebook, Twitter and official sporting websites. To help manage this they should have a clear policy on internet use at work, definitively stating what is and is not acceptable. But if employers decide to monitor workers' internet use, under data protection regulations they must let staff know this is happening. Whatever decisions they take, it is vital that employers protect themselves by ensuring they do not contravene the terms of the employee contracts they provide."