What price following England?

England’s first daytime weekday game and England’s
last chance to secure a place in the second round, meaning an anticipated surge
in people taking a ‘sick day’ to watch the team fight to regain some
credibility after days of speculation about team performance and management
disharmony..

The surge in sick days could
be the start of many, with more than five per cent (5.2 percent) of workers
claiming to take sick days to watch key matches during the World Cup, according
to new research by recruiters Badenoch & Clark. With approximately 28.86
million* people currently employed in the UK, this could mean up to 1,499,160
sick days during the World Cup season this summer, With the weekly average pay
of £97.80p, that’s a total cost to Britain of £147million.**

The research found that
almost two thirds (65.8 percent) of employees will not be allowed to watch
important matches during the World Cup, with 11 per cent of those surveyed
believing that this will affect staff morale. More than a quarter of
respondents will not be allowed flexible working hours during the World Cup,
despite nearly half (43 per cent) of respondents rating flexible working as the
most important factor in keeping them in their current job.

Andy
Powell, director at Badenoch & Clark, said: “Not allowing staff time off or
flexible working hours to watch key matches during the World Cup will pose a
real business risk for companies around the UK. “Although employers cannot be
expected to give time off in addition to annual leave entitlement, some
flexible working allowance during the World Cup period could be a

welcome reward after a tough year and really
help to boost employee morale.”

24 June 2010