More than 1.5 million workers are expected to call in sick during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as fans across England and Scotland brace for late-night kick-offs that will test the boundaries of workplace flexibility.
With England’s group games starting at 2100 and 2200 BST and Scotland’s even later at 2300 and 0200, many have already taken strategic measures. Football fans have been booking annual leave around potential knockout fixtures, while others are hoping to negotiate later starts or work-from-home arrangements after matches.
“1.5 million UK workers expected to call in sick during 2026 World Cup as late kick-offs clash with work.”
Scotland fan Cameron Rae has already booked the Monday after the Haiti game off work so he can attend a Tartan Army fan zone at his local town hall, complete with a bar and DJ running until 4am. “I booked the Monday off a while ago. I work in a garage and we’re open as normal, so I probably wouldn’t get away with flexible working,” Rae says.
Fellow Scotland fan Krys Kujawa, a business analyst, is taking a more laissez-faire approach. He thinks he can survive the late nights without needing days off – just about. “Haiti is early Sunday morning so there’s still all of Sunday to recover. Morocco is late Friday night so you can just stay up and sleep in on Saturday. Brazil is the difficult one – that’s coffee-your-way-through-work territory,” Kujawa says.
In Scotland, a one-off national bank holiday on 15 June will mark the national team’s first World Cup appearance since 1998. But only NHS Scotland staff and Scottish government employees are entitled to the day off. Local councils can opt in or out, and private businesses are not legally obligated to close or grant the extra holiday. Kujawa says he would have “preferred the Bank Holiday after the Brazil match” as it’s a “bit of a buzzkill” knowing you have to go to work the next morning.
Unions and employment experts have warned businesses to prepare for a spike in so-called “World Cup sickies”. BrightHR, which monitors absences across more than one million UK employees, predicts at least 1.5 million workers will call in sick during the tournament, resulting in more than 2.3 million additional sickness absences. Research by workforce management company UKG suggests the World Cup could cost UK employers around £681m in lost productivity.
One company hoping to avoid the trend is Birmingham-based digital agency Pull the Pin. Founder Sam Hufton has expanded the firm’s flexible working policy. “As a keen football fan, I’ve reminded everyone that if they want to watch a game and start a bit later, that’s fine, all we ask is that they’re transparent about it,” he says.
But with late kick-offs and the lure of the beautiful game, the balance between fandom and productivity remains a tricky one – especially for those without the luxury of flexible hours.