Is a sick colleague appearing on the screen of the European Football Championship? - What can the employer and employee do?

Even in our small country, many people watch the European Football Championship on their home TVs and various public screens. This is also explained by the fact that, according to information from supermarket chains, the demand for beer and snacks has recently increased significantly.

However, some lucky people will be able to enjoy the game not only through the screens but also directly on the pitch, in the stadium. Those who are not stuck outside the Hungarian airport like the fans of the Scotland-Hungary match will be able to watch the matches in Germany.

But what happens if someone has managed to get a ticket for the European Championships, but their employer is counting on them to work on the day of the match and won't give them time off for that day.  In many cases, the "creative" solution is for the person to take sick leave and go to the European Football Championships on the grounds of illness. However, they forget that such an event is accompanied by hundreds of cameras and their picture may well appear in the live coverage, in a journalist's article or in a social media post.

What can the employer do?

The main purpose of incapacity for work (sick pay) is to enable the worker to return to work as soon as possible. A worker on sick leave also has certain obligations under employment law.

A condition arising from the worker's duty to cooperate is that his return to work should not be hindered by activities incompatible with his recovery (such as attending a football game).

If the colleague breaches this duty of cooperation and thereby engages in conduct that jeopardises the employer's economic interests, the employer may terminate the employment contract with immediate effect and terminate the colleague's employment on the basis of Article 78 of the Labour Code.  The employer may state in the grounds for termination that the colleague has committed a material breach of an essential obligation arising from the employment relationship with intent or gross negligence.

In other cases, if the employer has doubts about the employee's incapacity for work, it is entitled to initiate a review of the incapacity for work at the government office pursuant to Article 6 (3) of Government Decree 102/1995 (VIII.25.).

What can the employee do?

As an employee, the most important thing you can do is not walk in front of a camera. However, for a variety of reasons, including liquid courage before a match, this is often not possible and you will still be caught on camera.

By buying a ticket, the colleague attending the match accepts UEFA's General Terms and Conditions (GTC) as the match organiser. Clause 10.1 of UEFA's GTC states that UEFA takes and publishes photographs of supporters on the basis of UEFA's 'legitimate interest' in promoting its events.

Many people are not aware of this, but under Article 21 of the GDPR, everyone has the right to object to such photo or video production. In the event of an objection, the organiser of the event must, as a general rule, remove the images or videos - or the parts of the series of images or videos - in which the face of the objecting colleague is included as personal data.

The right to object can be exercised by the employee - or, in practice, by anyone who has been photographed or videoed - by sending an email to privacy@uefa.ch.

The same applies to cases where a media or journalist takes a picture of us at the European Football Championship or any other event. We can also exercise our right to object under Article 21 of the GDPR.