You might be thinking that having got through the school summer holidays, the cricket test match series and various other sporting events relatively unscathed for staffing cover, you’re home and dry until Christmas.
Sorry to be the ones breaking the bad news, but the six-week-long Rugby World Cup will be upon us in a couple of weeks. The event is being hosted by Japan, which means that all the games involving our home nation teams will be played and broadcast in the mornings (UK time).
Rugby World Cup - Friday 20 Sept – Saturday 2 Nov 2019
There's something extraordinary about major sporting events that engage people of all types, even people you've never thought of as being sports fans. The fact that the games involving England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales will all be aired in the UK with kick-off times of between 08.45 am and 11.45 am means that as an employer, you could be presented with a few pre-match jitters. It may be regarded as a bit of a national joke, but rates of absenteeism really do rise steeply during significant sporting events.
It may not be quite as impacting having passed the notorious high-summer period, but late September and early October are still very popular holiday times for people who are travelling without school-aged children. Your weeks of staffing woes may not be behind you just yet. It can all add up to a significant problem, trying to keep your staffing levels well covered and your customers well served. If it helps you to plan for cover, here are the dates and UK broadcast times of the group games involving the home nations:
England
- Sun 22Sept 11.15 am: England v Tonga
- Thurs 26 Sept 11.45 am: England v the USA
- Sat 5Oct 09.00 am: England v Argentina
- Sat 12 Oct 09.15 am: England v France
Scotland
- Sun 22 Sept 08.45 am: Ireland v Scotland
- Mon 30 Sept 11.15 am: Scotland v Samoa
- Wed 9Oct 08.15 am: Scotland v Russia
- Sun 13 Oct 11.45 am: Japan v Scotland
Ireland
- Sun 22 Sept 08.45 am: Ireland v Scotland
- Sat 28 Sept 08.15 am: Japan v Ireland
- Thurs 3 Oct 11.15 am: Ireland v Russia
- Sat 12 Oct 11.45 am: Ireland v Samoa
Wales
- Mon 23 Sept 11.15 am: Wales v Georgia
- Sun 29 Sept 08.45 am: Australia v Wales
- Wed 9 Oct 10.45 am: Wales v Fiji
- Sun 13 Oct 09.15 am: Wales v Uruguay
All matches beyond the group stages are also morning kick-offs with the final due to be played at 09.00 am UK time on Saturday 2 Nov. For full details see https://rugbyworldcup.com
With our 24-hour business culture and of course the many other teams involved, there’s still a very good chance your business could catch a nasty dose of Rugby World Cup fever. One way to make sure your business is match-fit is to engage outsourced services to cover staff shortages.
Don’t get caught out, look down our winning lineout and get back to winning ways with a team that’s at peak performance. We're here to support you throughout the Rugby World Cup (and any other staffing crisis) and have amazing 'super-subs' ready to come on when you need them most.
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