Fielding a full team during the football

The football world championship will be held between 11th June and 20th July, with friendly matches beforehand. You’ll probably be watching the final scores, but will you be keeping an eye on your staff the day after matches? Find out what to look out for as an employer. 

Sickness and lateness 

After England’s 2024 round of 16 nailbiter against Slovakia, two goals in stoppage time saw fans celebrating into the early hours. And sickness spiked by 214% the following day, with over a quarter of cases put down to food poisoning or stomach bugs. Even when people made it into work, lateness increased by 50%. We expect this to rise even more with later kick-offs in 2026. 

And now the Employment Rights Act 2025 is in place, employers will have to pay sick pay from the first day of employee sickness. Employers are concerned that sickness will rise as workers will receive at least some pay while off sick. Based on our workings, employers will pay at least £94 million in sick pay during the tournament, some for the first time. 

Worried about sickness and lateness in 2026? Set out a clear policy that outlines your expectations around absences. You can download a free absence policy template if you don’t have one already. 

But tread carefully if you think someone’s not genuinely sick. Keep a record of attendance and sickness for match days and the following days, to help you spot patterns and make sure you’re not jumping to conclusions. If your teams travel between multiple locations, you can use clocking in and out software to check everyone’s made it on site on time. And, if it comes to it, you’ll have evidence from your HR software to support your reasons for disciplining a staff member. 

Disciplinary action against a genuine sickness case could have legal consequences and financial penalties if you don’t follow due process. For support, contact the 24/7 employment law service and advice line. 

Annual leave 

Worried about clashing last minute holiday requests? Or worse, no-one turning up because everyone’s booked the same day off? Try the BrightHR holiday planner. You can get instant notifications of potential clashes and approve or decline leave instantly.  

Encourage your teams to get their requests in early. Remind staff that they have the option to take annual leave, especially if it’s a quiet period or your company doesn’t allow employees to carry annual leave into the next year. With BrightHR holiday planner, they can book annual leave at home while they’re looking at their calendar, chatting to their partner or finding a bargain holiday. 

Keep your holiday booking procedure up to date in your staff handbook and make sure everyone knows the process for booking leave. But remember to stick to your usual method of approving, or apply temporary rules to everyone to avoid complaints of favouritism around the football.  

Some sections of the workforce are planning ahead. BrightHR absence data shows Thursday 18th June (the day after the first England group match) is the most booked day off for over-60s during the whole tournament. That date doesn’t even appear in the top 10 for the rest of the workforce. 

Shifts and rotas 

As well as annual leave clashes, you should be planning for busy times and keeping an eye on all matches. Our data from the 2024 Euros showed the match with the most sicknesses the day after wasn’t the final, but the round of 16. 

You can create rotas for any industry and working pattern in minutes with a smart rota planner. If someone calls in sick, you can manage last-minute absences with an open shifts feature that notifies staff the moment a shift becomes available. 

Social media and reputation 

You should also think about what happens if your employees misuse social media. After Euro 2020, racist abuse of Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka became an employment issue. The perpetrator was reported to his employer, who suspended and later dismissed him. If you have an issue with an employee, make sure you stick to your disciplinary procedures. Speak to an employment law expert at BrightHR to make sure you’re following them correctly. 

You could also get a social media policy in place. It can include responsible use of social media, privacy, and representing the company. So, if your employee goes viral for taking their celebrations too far, or for unacceptable behaviour, you can protect your business against reputational damage. 

Social media and harassment 

Before the tournament, make sure your staff know the difference between banter and harassment, and you have a zero-tolerance policy on bullying and harassment.  A misplaced joke or offhand comment can lead to claims of unlawful discrimination, and compensation in these cases is uncapped. You can find a template harassment policy on BrightBase, the library of 400+ expert-written policies, documents and templates. 

As part of the Employment Rights Act 2025, from October 2025 you have a duty to actively protect your teams from third party harassment (e.g. customers or contractors). This is a good time to get your policies and training up to date, especially for the hospitality industry, as late kick-off times and extended licensing will increase the likelihood of harassment from customers.  

If you’re asking hospitality staff to work longer hours, integrated HR and payroll software should flag the pay implications of extended hours and working time regulations. If your teams need a refresher or you’re taking on new or temporary staff, you could take a look at a Selling & Serving Alcohol Awareness e-learning course. 

Drinking at work 

With the news that 42% of British workers have come into work hungover or still drunk, you should remind your staff that their contracts include a zero-tolerance policy on alcohol. And do it before the tournament kicks off, to set expectations early. Red flags for alcohol misuse can include absenteeism, dips in productivity and low mood (over and above the usual emotional rollercoaster around the football). 

If you suspect an employee is under the influence, it’s your employer duty to ensure they’re not endangering safety, health and welfare at work. But remember, employees with a drink problem have the right to confidentiality and support, as with any other medical or psychological condition. Disciplinary action should be a last resort, and dismissal may be found to be unfair if you haven’t attempted to help them. Get a policy in place to prevent problems, identify issues early, and provide confidential support. An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is a great place to look for round-the-clock, personalised wellbeing support. 

Extra bank holiday in Scotland 

For employers in Scotland, the extra football bank holiday on 15th June might be causing unnecessary headaches. Depending on contracts, some employees will have an automatic right to the day off, some might specify time and a half, and some part-time staff will be wondering where they stand. Read the BrightHR guide to the extra football bank holiday to find out everything you need to know as an employer.  

How BrightHR can help 

People management involves a lot more than signing a few holiday forms and keeping a calendar on the staff room wall.  

Over the average year, a business will spend 31 hours processing 270+ absence requests, lose 14 hours managing 120 overtime requests, and need 150 HR documents, from job ads and policies to tax guides and handbooks. 

For a business with 10 employees, you’ll get an estimated £9.51 return on investments for every £1 you spend. Take a look at the BrightHR payback calculator and see how much you could save.  

And even if your number of employees grows, your monthly fee won’t. Your success and growth are something to celebrate, not pay for.