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Sickies and England Denmark

ended 18. June 2024

The Mail Online have asked Newspage to get views from HR experts ahead of the England v Denmark match on Thursday. They're keen to find out what employers are planning to do given it's a 5pm kick-off - are they expecting more people to ask for time off work at short notice, is a spike in sickies expected (Thursday and/or Friday) and how do businesses prepare for (and pre-empt that)? Also, if you have any clients who are letting staff leave early to watch the game with friends or family, they could be featured, too, so mention that if so. In short, what are the dynamics that play out in the average business when England are playing during working hours and what do you recommend? Any interesting or amusing anecdotes are also welcome (anonymously of course).

2 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Samuel Mather-Holgate
Independent Financial Adviser at Mather and Murray Financial
Given these major tournements are only every 2 years, and the England match doesn't demand a whole day of drinking, we will be letting everyone finish 90 minutes early, so they can get home, light the BBQ and relax with a bottle of something bubbly. We don't expect any absences the next day, especially given our flexibility for the match. We find that if you try to acommodate your staff's needs, they pay you back with their loyalty.
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Louise Skittrall
HR Expert at Robinson Grace HR Consultancy
In light of the nation's enthusiastic support of the England football team, we will be closing the Robinson Grace HR office at 4.30pm on Thursday to allow everyone to get home in time for Thursday's England performance. One of our clients has moved the times of their shifts that day to accommodate a 90 minute gap between the day and twighlight shifts while the match is on. We're not anticipating many sickies at this stage of the competition but as the tournament progresses, it's not uncommon to have a rise in absence or last minute holiday bookings to accommodate England matches. Our advice to clients is to take a pragmatic approach - if watching at work can be accommodated, or a change in working hours on some days can be agreed, this can be a win win. Others introduce a rota system so that those not interested in football volunteer to cover shifts when matches are taking place.