by Trevor Sturgess

Bosses should be ready for a flood of requests for time-off during the football World Cup.

And they need to think about what they should do if they are faced with a sudden outbreak of "sickies".

Many employers are already worrying about possible employment issues which will arise during the World Cup, says Maidstone-based law firm Gullands.

So how can employers deal with problems that arise from absences around the World Cup which may affect their ability to maintain business as usual?

Although the timetable for England matches is more conducive this year to the standard working day it will still affect the working day, particularly shift workers, and may result in requests to shorten the working day to get home in time for kick-off.

Amanda Finn, a solicitor and head of employment law at Gullands, says: "As a starting point it is a good idea to remind all staff of the company's policy for requesting time off and notification of sickness absence.

"An employer does not have to accept a holiday request but it is important all staff are treated fairly and consistently. If you do decide to make allowances for changes in hours to accommodate matches then it is important that it is stressed that this is a temporary arrangement and that employers deal with other staff requests unrelated to football with similar sympathy.

"Without seeking to make assumptions about the gender of football fans, it is likely that if an employer has agreed to a small alteration in hours for its male employees a refusal of a request for alteration to a female member of staff's hours for other reasons could lead to claims of discrimination."

If a company is going to take a harder line in relation to sickness absence during the World Cup it is important employees are told about this before and that the procedure does not depart from any contractual scheme.

Employers will have to be very sure of their facts to take disciplinary action and in any event should be careful to follow the ACAS statutory code of practice to avoid the risk of an employment tribunal.