KIRKLEES employers are braced for a sporting challenge.

A busy year for sport in 2012 is set to give bosses a human resources headache, it is claimed.

As well as big events such as Wimbledon, Formula One and Six Nations Rugby, the summer months will also see football’s Euro 2012 taking place in Poland and Ukraine before July and August see the biggest sporting bash of them all, the London Olympics.

Julie Sykes, of human resources consultancy JCS HR, said: “The two big events in particular have the potential to present some big HR challenges and now is the time to start planning how to handle them.

“Are you simply going to react to issues that might arise or do you want to do something more pro-active to minimise issues in the first place?

“You could even make the most of one – or more – of these events and use them to build morale, improve team working or reward staff.

“At the very least, it will pay to start thinking about how you will handle such things as higher than normal requests for time off in these periods, unplanned and unauthorised absence and or lateness, requests from staff to work from home or employees using the internet to check results or watch live coverage during working time.”

Said Julie: “Rather than just reacting to issues if and when they arise, it makes better business sense to take proactive action now – by ensuring that staff understand the company’s policies in relation to things such as requests for time off, how unauthorised absence or lateness will be managed, company policy on internet use.”

She added: “Although these events do have the potential to disrupt normal business activities, if handled well there are also opportunities to gain major business benefits.

“There are a whole range of things that could be done to boost team working, improve morale, reward and recognise staff contribution and build or enhance relationships with clients.”

Julie said: “All it takes is some thought and planning and 2012 could turn out to be the opportunity you have been looking for to enhance your company’s reputation, both as an employer and as a supplier or service provider.”