England’s middle-of-the-night World Cup clash with Mexico has prompted calls for employers to use their “common sense and understanding” and allow flexible working where possible, as bleary-eyed fans face a 1am kick-off on Monday.
Joshua Elash, who runs London-based firm MT Finance Group, is allowing all 125 staff to start work at 11:00 – hours later than the usual 08:45 or 09:00. “It wasn’t a dilemma at all. This was as close to a no-brainer as a business can get,” he says. Elash and other senior managers will themselves be staying up to watch the game. “It’s good for morale,” he adds, acknowledging that Monday may not be particularly productive. “Some things are more important than, you know, a day’s revenue.”
“Employers urged to allow flexible working after England's 1am World Cup match, with some letting staff start at 11am.”
Manchester-based digital marketing company MadeByShape is going further, giving its 21 staff the day off – provided they are on track with their work and have rearranged any client meetings. Co-founder Andy Golpys says: “As long as the work gets done, it doesn’t really matter whether you work that day or catch up the next. They [staff] appreciate you more, but from a business point of view, we’re not really losing that much.”
The TUC, the umbrella group for trade unions, is calling for “common sense and understanding” concerning morning-after working arrangements. Assistant general secretary Kate Bell says the match will “have implications for workers across the country”. She urges employees to check their contracts and their rights, and hopes bosses – where possible – will allow staff to work from home, start later or swap their hours. “It won’t be possible for everyone, but we do know that where employers make that extra effort to show flexibility to their employees, people really appreciate it,” she says.
John Palmer, senior advisor at conciliation service Acas, says firms must treat requests for time off fairly.
The 1am start has already caused confusion. On Thursday, the government said pubs could stay open until 05:00 on Monday – after earlier ruling this out, a move welcomed by some hospitality groups but criticised by police as “late”. Reports on Friday suggested the kick-off might be brought forward by six hours due to storm concerns, before Fifa decided against it hours later.
For now, thousands of fans face an early-morning alarm, and employers like Elash are leading what he calls a “no-brainer” approach. But with manufacturing and retail sectors less able to offer flexibility, the question remains: how many will follow?