Acas Kicks-Off with Guidance on Preparing for the Euros
Acas has published guidance to help employers prepare for potential disputes during Euro 2016.
The guidance anticipates that the following issues will affect employees and employers during the competition:
- requests for annual leave
- sickness absence
- internet and social media use during working hours
It recommends that employers:
- have agreements in place regarding time off, sickness absence and watching TV during the matches
- have an annual leave policy in place giving guidance on how to book time off
- consider being more flexible when allowing employees to take leave during this period, making clear that this will be a temporary arrangement
- have a sickness policy in place and operate it fairly and consistently
- monitor levels of attendance during the competition in line with the attendance policy and ensure that any unauthorised absence or patterns in absence are dealt with formally under the relevant procedures
- consider adopting a flexible working day, perhaps allowing employees to come in a little later or finish sooner, and then agree when this time can be made up
- ensure a clear internal usage policy is in place and brought to the attention of employees making it clear what is/is not acceptable usage
- highlight to employees if there is a clear no alcohol policy at work