Bosses risk facing £1,000 fine for letting workers watch Cheltenham Festival in shared office spaces

Bosses risk facing £1,000 fine for letting workers watch Cheltenham Festival in shared office spaces

TV licensing rules may put a stop to staff being allowed to take a break to watch the big horse racing action on ITV in co-working offices

The Cheltenham Festival is the biggest horse racing week of the year with hundreds of thousands expected to tune into the live coverage on ITV.

But bosses have been warned they may be committing an offence if they allow employees to stop work briefly to watch the action as the horses go chasing glory at Pretbury Park.

The first of seven races on the opening day goes off at 1.20pm, meaning many may be tuning in to watch the action during their lunch breaks. But as understanding employers hope to let their staff enjoy the racing over the course of the week, they may be forced to rethink their plans if they don’t have a valid TV licence in place.

Our research reveals that in shared office spaces, the majority of premises are not covered by one TV licence. It is on individual businesses using the spaces to ensure they have their own TV licence for their company to watch.

If caught without one, then businesses could be liable under the law for a fine of £1,000.

Our data also revealed that 1 in 4 (25.7%) currently work within an office in a co-working space. Shared office spaces may already have a TV licence to cover communal areas such as the kitchen or any seating areas, but individual offices must have their own licence to avoid breaching regulations in place.

So for those hoping to enjoy the racing, this could put a dent in their plans if their office doesn’t have its own licence in place.

In the UK, anyone found to be watching, downloading or streaming without a valid TV licence, is liable for a £1,000 fine, this includes watching live TV through on demand services such as ITV X and BBC iPlayer, as well as streaming services like YouTube and Amazon Prime Video.

A spokesperson from Office Freedom shares: “With racing taking place through afternoons, we can imagine many businesses will be eager to allow staff to tune in to watch the action while they are at work.

“But with so many now operating in shared office spaces - accommodating around a quarter of workers in the UK, according to survey research - it is important for companies to check if they have a valid TV licence in place. The onus is on individual companies operating in a co-working office to have a licence which covers the company, as existing TV licences in shared office spaces will only cover communal areas.

“For companies currently leasing a shared office space, we’d urge them to check their TV licence as we would hate for anyone to get caught out just for allowing staff to enjoy the festival of racing ahead.”