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England's 1am World Cup clash against Mexico on Monday morning has prompted fresh warnings for employers to prepare for a potential rise in sickness absences, late starts and annual leave requests.
The Round of 16 fixture will prove to be a challenge for the Three Lions, facing a team playing on home soil at the Azteca stadium and the additional difficulty of playing in the high altitude of Mexico City.
But it's not just the England team that will be feeling the pressure, but workplaces too. With the game kicking off at 1am BST, the earliest the clash will finish would be shortly before 3am - factoring in added time and hydration breaks. If the teams are deadlocked, another 30 minutes will follow, and potentially a penalty shoot-out mean that millions of UK workers might still be awake by the time dawn breaks.
And now, research from AO.com found that more than a quarter (27%) of football fans would consider "throwing a sickie" or calling in late if England win in the early hours, with that figure rising to 45% among those aged 25 to 34.
While employment experts say organisations should not panic, they agree HR teams should use the days before kick-off to communicate expectations clearly, consider reasonable flexibility where possible and ensure any decisions are applied consistently.
Set expectations before kick-off
Perhaps the strongest message from employment specialists is that employers should not wait until Monday morning to decide how they will respond.
