With the nation soon to be gripped by the Olympic Games, employers can help build positive relationships with their staff if they can offer a reasonable amount of flexibility during the event.
As with anything of this scale, employers are more likely to be inundated with requests for time off and the Olympics will have many sporting fans not only asking for annual leave to watch the various events, but also to volunteer.
Requests for flexible hours, particularly within sectors such as tourism which may lean more towards accommodating this than other industries, are also likely to be common over the coming weeks.
While employers need to ensure that their businesses are appropriately staffed during peak periods, a degree of flexibility will go a long way to build positive rapport and positive relationships with employees which can only benefit a business.
An easy and sensible way to manage this is to communicate to staff that all requests for time off will be dealt with on a first come first served basis. This ensures that the process is fair and avoids any quibbles from those who may be disappointed.
Giving time off for volunteering is at the employer’s discretion. They are not legally obligated to allow staff time off for this nor is the employee entitled to be paid for time taken for voluntary pursuits however, an agreement can be reached to either use annual leave entitlement or have the time as unpaid leave.
Providing facilities during the Olympics allowing staff to watch during breaks can also help avoid any performance issues arising from people viewing the sports when they should be working and doing this can also help boost staff morale.
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