World Cup TV Licensing Headache for Employers
By Amanda Jones in Lanyon Bowdler News on Tuesday, June 1, 2010 @ 14:04
As the nation unfurls its flags for a summer of World Cup action, employers have been warned that allowing their staff to watch the matches online could result in a £1,000 fine from licensing agencies.
In London alone, approximately two million employees are expected to watch mid-afternoon matches online during office hours. But figures released this month show that thousands of firms around the country lack the correct licensing agreements allowing staff to stream live games over the internet.
“Some managers might assume if they don't have a TV in the building, they don't need to worry, but the rise of online TV means many more businesses need to be covered by a TV licence,” said Jon Shaw, TV Licensing spokesman. “We'd rather businesses think ahead and check if they need a licence than risk a court case and a fine.”
A recent poll of 1,500 London office managers found that 50% were unaware of the need for a licence when watching online, while a separate survey of UK employees indicated 35% may watch TV at work using a computer or laptop, meaning up to 10 million workers around the country could tune in online to watch the trophy’s fate.
However, a £145.50 TV licence is legally required if anyone watches TV programmes at the same time as they are shown on television, whether on a computer, TV or any other type of equipment. If an employee is caught, the business may be held liable and fined up to £1,000.
TV licensing’s governing authorities have warned employers that officers will be out patrolling during the World Cup, visiting business premises identified as unlicensed, and enforcing on-the-spot fines.
“Employers will not only need to make sure they put plans in place for staff to watch matches, but they will need to make sure they are properly licensed and get a TV License for their business,” added Federation of Small Businesses Chief Spokesman, Stephen Alambritis.
Amanda Jones wrote:
This comment is from partner and head of the employment team - John Merry, following someone enquiring about home workers.
http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/
I'd refer them to the above web address and observe that the site seems to suggest that the license relates to (i) the premises of the person using the device, to the extent the device is plugged in and (ii) the premises of the person who is using the equipment if it is running on battery power. Therefore, it seems that if an employee is viewing a live televised football match on a company-supplied pc that is plugged in at his home, it's the employee's responsibility to make sure he has a license for his home; but if he's watching the same match at home on an iphone supplied by the employer which isn't plugged in, the employer could be liable if it doesn't have a tv license for its own premises. That begs the question whether, for an employer with multiple premises, which premises must be covered by a license in order to cover the home-based staff: all of them, or just one of them? For an answer to that, an enquiry may, of course, be made of the licensing authority if, after digging around, it's not on the site.