The beauty of the Euro 2016 group stages is that we get football on the telly right throughout the week.
The downside to this, and it is a biggie, is that a decent number of the games kick off at 2pm, and unless you’ve got either the holiday allocation to spare or the sheer audacity to pull a sickie, there’s a good chance you’ll be stuck at work for some of the games you really want to watch.
As most of you are probably aware, England take on Wales in a seismic battle of Britain this afternoon, but the early kickoff is going to make it a tricky proposition for a lot of fans.
So what are your options? Nobody wants to be buried in a soul-destroying email chain when Bale, Rooney and co are going at it in Lens, but at the same time it’s (probably) not worth losing a job over.
The Mirror had a chat with Shakespeare Martineau employment lawyer Chris Kisby, who outlined the best plan of action. Unfortunately, it turns out that you can’t directly order your boss to let you watch the game, but there are ways of talking them into it.
“A blanket refusal may be counterproductive,” Kisby explains. “Euro 2016 might be an opportunity to improve employee engagement and productivity by allowing staff to watch or listen to matches.”
Basically, keeping employees happy has been proven to benefit companies in the long run, so you just need to convince the people in charge. Your boss is also legally required to consider any reasonable request for flexible working. If the second game of Euro 2016’s Group B isn’t deemed reasonable then we don’t know what is.
What about slipping off to the pub during your lunch break? The Mirror explains that train drivers and key transport workers are prohibited from drinking on the job – which we’re not about to dispute. As for the rest of us, it’s worth checking if there’s any mention of alcohol in your contract before ducking out for a crafty few. And even if there isn’t, your boss is bound by health and safety laws to protect you from excessive boozing. Don’t get carried away.
What your boss will also have to bear in mind is that if they do allow time off for the England game, then they’d better make sure they do it for employees who support other teams as well. Kisby warned: “If you allow time off, don’t limit your approach to England supporters. Apply it to all nationalities to avoid potential discrimination claims.”
There are numerous ways of streaming the game, be it on your computer, tablet or phone. It might be that your boss lets you load up a feed – or you might have to put your well-honed procrastination skills to to the test and do it slyly under the desk. Either way, make sure your workplace has a network that can handle it and has an up-to-date TV license.
Whatever you choose to do, we hope you all find some way of catching the game. COME ON *insert supported British team name*!!!
