Absenteeism – EURO 2012

The qualification for the Euro 2012 finals is added boost to the Irish psyche at the moment and one we hope will bring back the euphoria of previous tournaments, such as Italia 90.

But Employers should be aware along with this jubilation will unfortunately be an increase in absenteeism.  So now is the time to plan for the enviable instead of trying to fire fight the situation in the middle of Euro 2012.

Thankfully so far all of the Republic of Ireland matches are to be played in the evenings but this may change if we progress further in the tournament.

So by putting simple measures in place you will be able to proactively manage your absenteeism and prevent some eventual headaches.

• Consult with your employees now and identify the best measures to be put in place, ensuring by-in from first day.
• Get involved in the celebration and like previous World Cups and Euro events allow employees to watch the television during short breaks at work.  These small gestures will have a positive impact on employees and they will not have to resort to watching it on the Internet and/or on their mobiles.
• Where possible agree beforehand with employees to use their annual leave to watch the tournament.
• Or alternatively if your organisation has a flexi-time system in place, utilise it! So employees where possible can arrive at work earlier or make up the time at a later stage.

And finally the information that employees need to be aware of:

• Make it clear to employees that any abuse of the above privileges will be subject to disciplinary measures.
• That there will be zero tolerance for employees phoning in sick after key matches and that they will have to provide medical evidence when requested.

Consequently by having a plan in place companies will be able to handle any difficulties with regard to increases in absenteeism and we can all sit back and enjoy what hopefully will be a wonderful tournament.

Euro 2012 Quarter Final Timetable / Schedule / Fixtures