The most embarrassing World Cup penalty!

by Rachel Wait on 16 June 2010  |  10 comments
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If you're planning to watch the World Cup at work, make sure you don't get a penalty!

World Cup fever is well and truly upon us, and in this video I’m going to reveal how watching the football at work could result in an embarrassing one thousand pound penalty!

Watch out!

Any footy fans out there will be well aware that many of the World Cup matches take place during working hours.

As a result, you might be hoping to watch the matches live on your office computer. But while your main concern might be avoiding getting caught by your boss, the bigger issue to be aware of is that you could be getting your employer into a lot of trouble.

TV rules

To watch the football live, whether this is on television or on a computer, you will need a TV licence. If there are no televisions in your office, there’s a good chance your employer won’t have a TV licence.

That means that if you decide to watch the football on your computer, your company will be breaking the law, and as a result, it could get fined one thousand pounds.

That said, this is only valid for live matches. If you’re watching a repeat, a TV licence won’t be needed.

Get around it

You can get around the TV licence issue if you use your own personal laptop in the office. That’s because you’ll be covered by the TV licence you have at home.

However, you need to make sure your laptop battery is fully charged because if you need to plug it in at the office and charge it, you will no longer be covered under your own TV licence. So your company could still receive a fine.

Of course, remember that if you do plan to watch the World Cup – whether it’s on an office computer or your own laptop - you might want to run it past your boss first. After all, even if you have followed the TV licence rules carefully, that doesn’t mean you won’t be penalised by your boss!