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Football is beset by instant judgments and fickle decision making. Vast sums of money can be at stake and in such a turbulent industry clubs need a proper grip on HR and employment law. Then there are the problems posed by players kicking their cats and sending offensive social media posts. Many cases highlight that professionalism is lacking in UK football, even in the ultra-rich Premier League, writes Dean Fuller
The dismissals of eight Premier League managers to date this season, including Ole Gunnar Solskjaer from Manchester United, Nuno Espirito Santo from Tottenham Hotspur, Steve Bruce from Newcastle United, Daniel Farke from Norwich City, Rafael Benitez from Everton and Claudio Ranieri from Watford is a record and highlights the often harsh world of professional football employment.
But away from the tabloid headline stories, there are a host of key employment law issues to consider for managers and others working in professional football. Here are 10:
1. Support staff can be collateral damage when a manager leaves: When the manager of a football club is sacked, technical and support staff often end up losing their jobs too. That can happen when the manager is dismissed or when their replacement brings in their own coaching staff.
2. Contracts are often poorly drafted: Many coaching staff at football clubs – below manager level – often have contracts that are poorly drafted as a result of taking insufficient or non-specialist advice. Coaches and other support staff can sometimes sign a contract too hastily if they see an appointment as a big break. They may also take advice from individuals they trust (such as agents) who are not independent legal experts and have vested interests of their own.
3. Make sure performance targets needed for bonuses are clearly defined: The contractual provisions for measuring performance (for example, league position, trophies won, goals scored and conceded) are normally quite straightforward. However, there can still be confusion caused, particularly if one side to the contract allows ambiguous language in the hope of using that ambiguity to their advantage later on.
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