World Cup Time Off: Penalty danger if it's restricted to England games

Businesses employing multi-racial workforces could face penalties if they close down or offer time off to England fans during World Cup games, but don’t offer the same to workers from other ethnic backgrounds.

Jonathan Whittaker, employment partner at law firm SAS Daniels LLP says that while plenty of companies are offering extra time off for England’s crucial game against Slovenia on Wednesday, June 23, employers could be shown a yellow card for failing to make the same offer to fans of other countries playing in South Africa.

“England as a nation may lose interest in the World Cup after Wednesday if our players fail to deliver, but we’re a multi-cultural country, and there are communities living and working here who have background from every nation represented in the competition.

“If employers offer time off or close businesses down for England games, then they might be accused of race discrimination in the workplace if they do not offer the same facilities to New Zealanders, Brazilians, Argentinians, the African or Asian nations, many European states, or people originating from any of the nations playing in so-called ‘crunch games’ or big matches.

“It’s an easy issue to overlook, but there are no limits for compensation if a business has been found in breach of race discrimination rules – so in an extreme case, the payout could easily go into elite footballer-level weekly wage territory.”

SAS Daniels LLP solicitors a leading North West law firm with five offices across Cheshire.