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As the World Cup begins in Russia today (Thursday), the TUC is publishing advice for bosses whose staff want to watch games during their normal working hours.

As the World Cup begins in Russia today (Thursday), the TUC is publishing advice for bosses whose staff want to watch games during their normal working hours.

Televised games kick off at various times from 11am UK-time. But it won’t just be football fans who work daytime hours who will want to enjoy the tournament.

More than one in four UK employees (5.7 million people) work evenings and many of them will want to watch the matches too.

Advice

The TUC suggests that bosses:

  • talk to their employees in advance about arrangements for key games;
  • arrange for their staff to watch the game on the company’s premises, if appropriate;
  • allow staff to work from home;
  • allow staff to work flexibly and to come in early or later to finish their shifts;
  • be as flexible as possible with annual leave requests.

Flexible working

Flexible working has real benefits for bosses and their workforces, says the TUC.

Many workplaces already operate flexitime, allowing staff to come in early and go home early, or to get into work late and leave the office later.

TUC General Secretary – and England and Arsenal supporter – Frances O’Grady said: “The World Cup is a landmark sporting event. Millions of workers around the UK will want to cheer on their national teams.

“Tournaments like this can be a great for building camaraderie at work, with colleagues running sweepstakes and spending time together.

“It’s important employers do not score an own goal by acting like killjoys. To avoid problems they should try and let people who want to watch the games do so, either at work or at home – and then claim back their time afterwards.

“Whether it’s major sporting events like the World Cup or watching your kids take part in their school sports day, allowing people more flexibility in how and when they do their work makes them happier and more productive. Come on England!”

Editors note

- Flexible working: Common types of flexible working include: part-time – working less than the normal hours; flexitime – choosing when to work (with a core period during when you have to work); annualised hours (when your hours are worked out over a year); compressed hours – working your agreed hours over fewer days; staggered hours (different starting, break and finishing times for employees in the same workplace); job sharing – sharing a job designed for one person with someone else; or homeworking – working from home.

- The Trades Union Congress (TUC) exists to make the working world a better place for everyone. We bring together more than 5.5 million working people who make up our 49 member unions. We support unions to grow and thrive, and we stand up for everyone who works for a living.

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