England play their second 2026 FIFA World Cup group match on Tuesday, and with the tournament in full swing, many employers will be managing increased time off, flexible working arrangements and the occasional unexpected absence.
While the World Cup can create workplace challenges, it also gives employers the chance to plan ahead. In this blog, we look at the key employment law considerations and practical steps employers can take to manage absence and minimise disruption during the tournament.
Understanding The Disruption
Most workplace absence issues arrive without warning. The World Cup does not. With fixtures scheduled well in advance, employers can expect a rise in leave requests, flexible working requests, shift swaps, and ad hoc time off to watch matches.
This year brings an added complication. The 2026 World Cup is being hosted across the United States, Canada and Mexico, which means a significant time difference for UK employers and fans alike.
Many supporters will be staying up late to catch late-night fixtures, particularly as the competition moves into the knockout stages between June 2026 and July 2026. That alone can lead to a noticeable increase in sickness absence, hangover related tiredness, and dips in productivity the following day, even among employees who have not booked any time off.
The encouraging part is that most of this can be planned for. A clear approach, communicated early and applied consistently, tends to prevent the majority of issues that arise before they start.
Why Employers Feel The Pressure
Events like the World Cup create competing priorities. Employees want to support England or Scotland, England or Wales, or simply enjoy one of the biggest events in world sport, while businesses still need to maintain staffing levels, service standards and day to day performance.
The concerns that tend to come up most often include competing holiday requests landing at the same time, requests from employees for flexible working, employees wanting time off to watch matches, a rise in sickness absence (genuine or otherwise), reduced productivity around big fixtures, and general fatigue following late-night games.
For businesses already running with lean staffing, even a small increase in unauthorised absence can create real interruption to the organisation. That is exactly why communication and planning ahead matter more here than they might for a typical month, and why so many employers may experience some changes regardless of how well prepared they are.
Managing Absence Requests Fairly
Getting Leave Requests Right
One of the most common challenges during a major tournament is managing annual leave requests fairly when several employees want the same day off. At this stage of the tournament, employers should continue to apply their usual time off procedures consistently and make decisions based on operational requirements rather than the significance of particular fixtures.
Employees should be reminded that annual leave remains subject to approval and that requests will be considered in line with business needs and the organisation’s normal policy. Where multiple employees request the same dates, applying a consistent approach, such as first come, first served or whatever method is set out in your policy, helps ensure decisions are seen as fair.
Fairness is the key consideration. It is easy to assume certain employees will want time off while others will not, but employers should avoid making assumptions based on who appears to be a football fan. Not everyone supports England, and not every football fan follows the same teams or competitions.
Applying workplace policies consistently helps maintain good employee relations, reduces the risk of discrimination claims, and gives employees confidence that leave requests are being handled fairly.
What About Sickness Absence?
This is a question HR teams ask every time a major sporting event takes place. Some employers will see an increase in sickness absence during the World Cup tournament, and it is tempting to assume the worst when an employee calls in sick the morning after a big match. Employers should avoid making assumptions simply because an employee reports sick leave following a high profile fixture.
The right approach is simply to follow your normal sickness absence procedure. If there is genuine concern about the legitimacy of an absence, investigate it properly and gather evidence before deciding whether disciplinary action should be taken. The reason for the absence should always be considered carefully.
Employees who are genuinely unwell should be treated exactly as they would be at any other time of year, with statutory sick pay (payable from day one for eligible employees) administered correctly.
Consistency is what protects employers here. Similar situations should be dealt with fairly and in the same way across the organisation, since treating two similar absences differently, even with good intentions, is where problems tend to start.
The Morning After Matters Too
It is easy to focus on the leave requests and forget what happens the day after a late fixture. With several world cup matches taking place in the early hours UK time, employees who stay up late to watch are likely to arrive at work tired, and in some cases, still under the influence following celebrations the night before.
This can show up as requests for a later start, a dip in productivity, fatigue related mistakes, or short notice sickness absence. While disciplinary action may occasionally be necessary in more serious cases, a sensible conversation usually achieves more than a formal process would. Employees who feel trusted tend to be more willing to communicate openly about turning up to work tired, which makes the whole thing easier to manage.
Keeping The Business Running
Flexible Working
For most businesses, flexible working is one of the simplest tools available to help employers manage the tournament. Many employees do not want or need a full day off. They just want the chance to watch matches without using up annual leave.
In practice that might mean allowing employees to work earlier or later hours, working from home for the day, swapping a shift, taking a longer lunch break, or finding ways to make up the time elsewhere. Giving employees the flexibility to watch matches tends to reduce the likelihood of unauthorised absence and keeps people engaged rather than resentful about missing out, which in turn supports broader employee engagement and workplace culture.
It is also worth thinking specifically about hybrid and remote employees to work flexibly around fixtures. They may not need formal approval at all if a match falls during normal working hours, since allowing employees to watch a game on a second screen while working is a different conversation to being out of the office.
The key for hybrid teams is making expectations clear in advance: if output and availability are maintained, does it matter if someone is watching the game while they work? Setting that expectation early avoids ambiguity later.
Keeping Productivity On Track
Productivity is one of the things employers raise most often. When a major match is on, conversations naturally drift towards football. People check scores, discuss results, and get swept up in the excitement, and that is normal.
Rather than trying to eliminate every distraction, it is more useful to plan ahead. That might mean reviewing staffing levels ahead of key fixtures, cross training employees so critical tasks are always covered, identifying where the pressure points are likely to be, communicating expectations clearly in advance, and monitoring workloads throughout June 2026 and July 2026. Businesses that think this through ahead of time are generally far better placed to help employers keep things running smoothly when the big matches come around.
Screens, Sweepstakes & Good Intentions
Plenty of employers want to turn the World Cup into a positive workplace opportunity rather than just manage around it, and that is a good instinct. Match prediction competitions, sweepstakes, shared viewing areas and flexible arrangements around key fixtures can all help boost morale and reduce workplace tension, while strengthening employee engagement and workplace culture more broadly.
It is worth being a little careful with how these are run, though. Office sweepstakes can technically fall under gambling regulations depending on how they are structured, so keeping stakes low, entry voluntary and prizes modest is generally the safest approach.
If you are putting a TV or screen up in a communal area for big matches, think about how that affects employees who are not interested in football, and make sure it does not disrupt anyone still working nearby. None of this needs to be complicated. It just needs a moment of thought before it is rolled out, and clear communication to remind staff that participation is optional.
The same applies to inclusion more broadly. Not every employee follows world cup football, and some may have other commitments or interests entirely unrelated to the tournament happening at the same time, including religious observance, family commitments or simply no interest in the sport at all. Keeping any tournament related activity optional, rather than assumed, keeps things inclusive without much extra effort and helps boost morale across the whole team, not just the football fans.
The Employment Law Basics Still Apply
It is worth remembering that employment law does not pause for the World Cup. Existing workplace policies on leave, flexible working, absence and discipline still apply exactly as they would at any other time of year.
Leave requests should be considered fairly and applied consistently, and decisions should always be based on objective business reasons rather than personal judgement about who is “really” a football fan or who deserves time off more than someone else.
This is also where employers should avoid potential discrimination claims, since assumptions about who wants time off, who is genuinely unwell, or who is simply hungover can easily tip into unfair treatment if decisions aren’t grounded in policy. A consistent approach protects employees and the organisation alike, and it is usually the difference between a smooth few weeks and a string of avoidable grievances.
How Mexa Solutions Can help
At Mexa Solutions, we work with employers to build resilient teams and provide practical HR support that helps businesses navigate periods of increased absence and workforce disruption.
Whether it’s advising hiring managers on managing leave requests fairly, supporting absence management processes, helping businesses plan temporary cover through contracts, or strengthening long-term recruitment strategies, our team can help employers minimise disruption while maintaining employee engagement and productivity.
Bringing It Together
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is already underway, and with England playing tonight, plenty of employers are bracing for the weeks ahead, right through to the final on 19 July 2026. Annual leave requests, flexible working, sickness absence and productivity dips are all part of the picture, but none of them need to catch a well prepared business off guard.
The employers who get this right will not be the ones who say no to every request. They will be the ones who communicate clearly, remind staff of expectations early, apply policy consistently and plan ahead, not just for leave and absence, but for the smaller details like screens, sweepstakes and hybrid working that often get overlooked.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can employees take time off to watch World Cup matches?
Yes, provided the leave is approved through your normal annual leave process. Employers are not required to grant leave simply because a World Cup fixture is taking place. Requests should be considered fairly, consistently and in line with operational requirements.
Could refusing time off amount to discrimination?
Not simply because the request relates to football. However, employers should avoid making assumptions about who wants leave or treating similar requests differently without a good reason. Consistent decision-making helps reduce the risk of discrimination or unfair treatment claims.
What’s the best way to manage the World Cup in the workplace?
Communicate expectations clearly, apply your policies consistently, consider reasonable flexibility where possible, and focus on maintaining business operations while recognising that major sporting events are important to many employees.
This blog was written by Hollie Agombar, Senior Digital Marketing Executive at Mexa Solutions