BrightHR data predicts World Cup sickies

Football pitch

As the biggest tournament in football draws closer and closer, we've been reviewing the data. Predicting a whopping 1.5 million additional sicknesses throughout the tournament.

As a result the BBC and Yahoo! News have picked up the story, citing us as a source. Covering the topic of absence spikes throughout the 37-day tournament, kicking off in Mexico on June 11th.

BrightHR CEO, Alan Price says “Looking at the men’s Euro 2024 matches and trends from 2025, we predict at least 3.6 million sick days will be taken in the UK during the tournament. And that comes at a cost for employers. Now the Employment Rights Act 2025 is in place, employers will have to pay sick pay from the first day of employee sickness for the first time. The worry is that sickness will rise as workers will receive at least some pay while off sick. And it’s not a small figure. Based on our workings, employers will have to fork out at least £94 million in sick pay during the tournament."

Read the full story over on our blog and get some further insight into how BrightHR can support businesses during this busy season.

Related Articles

Press Release

Tuesday, October 20, 2026

Fair Work Agency Navigator launched by BrightHR

Read more

In The News

Thursday, October 1, 2026

BrightHR seen on the streets with Harry Redknapp

Read more

In The News

Thursday, September 24, 2026

Employees should speak to their manager when calling in sick

Read more