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World Cup fever is upon us! But if you’re an avid footy fan who can’t bear to miss one single match, you need to watch out for this fine....
The slight drawback to the World Cup is that many of us will have to work while the matches are taking place. As an attempt to get around this, many of us will therefore be hoping to watch the matches live on our office computers.
But while your top priority might be not getting caught by your boss, in fact, the bigger issue to be aware of is that you could unwittingly be getting your employer into a lot of trouble – in fact, you could land your employer with a hefty fine of up to £1,000.
The rules
To watch the football live – whether on television or on a computer – you will need a TV licence. A colour TV licence costs £145.50.
This means that if there are no televisions in your office, it’s pretty likely your employer will not have a TV licence. And that means that if you and your colleagues are watching the footy from your office computers, your company will be breaking the law.
That said, this is only the case for live matches. If you’re watching repeats of the World Cup matches on your computer, a TV licence won’t be required. But let’s face it, are many of us really going to be watching repeats? Surely it’s all about the live action!
Bending the rules
Fortunately, there is one way to get around all of this. And that’s to use your own personal laptop in the office. By doing this, you’ll be covered by the TV licence for your home – providing you have one of course.
That said, you’ll need to ensure your laptop battery is fully charged because if you need to charge it up and plug it in at the office, you will no longer be covered under your own TV licence and again, a fine could be winging its way over to your company.
Of course, you may also want to check with your employer that it’s acceptable for you to be using your own laptop to watch the footy at work. Even if you’re hoping you won’t get caught out and you’ve played by the TV licence rules, that doesn’t mean you won’t be penalised by your boss if he/she finds out!
Source
The slight drawback to the World Cup is that many of us will have to work while the matches are taking place. As an attempt to get around this, many of us will therefore be hoping to watch the matches live on our office computers.
But while your top priority might be not getting caught by your boss, in fact, the bigger issue to be aware of is that you could unwittingly be getting your employer into a lot of trouble – in fact, you could land your employer with a hefty fine of up to £1,000.
The rules
To watch the football live – whether on television or on a computer – you will need a TV licence. A colour TV licence costs £145.50.
This means that if there are no televisions in your office, it’s pretty likely your employer will not have a TV licence. And that means that if you and your colleagues are watching the footy from your office computers, your company will be breaking the law.
That said, this is only the case for live matches. If you’re watching repeats of the World Cup matches on your computer, a TV licence won’t be required. But let’s face it, are many of us really going to be watching repeats? Surely it’s all about the live action!
Bending the rules
Fortunately, there is one way to get around all of this. And that’s to use your own personal laptop in the office. By doing this, you’ll be covered by the TV licence for your home – providing you have one of course.
That said, you’ll need to ensure your laptop battery is fully charged because if you need to charge it up and plug it in at the office, you will no longer be covered under your own TV licence and again, a fine could be winging its way over to your company.
Of course, you may also want to check with your employer that it’s acceptable for you to be using your own laptop to watch the footy at work. Even if you’re hoping you won’t get caught out and you’ve played by the TV licence rules, that doesn’t mean you won’t be penalised by your boss if he/she finds out!
Source
roud: :flagwave:
