World Cup matches have not led to more sickies

Employees are booking annual leave to watch or recover from England’s World Cup matches instead of calling in sick, suggesting employers’ flexible approach to time off is helping to avoid disruption.

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According to new research from HR and employment law provider Citation and, separately, from IRIS Software Group, sickness absence showed no significant increase. Citation’s results suggested that annual leave increased by 21% on England matchdays and the following days, however.

Data from IRIS Software Group showed that sickness absence remained below the normal baseline average of 0.85% and that even after England’s dramatic late-night win over Mexico – which kicked off at 2:00am UK time and finished at 4:48am on Monday 6 July – the sickness rate was 0.80%, still below the baseline average.

Citation’s research found that sickness absence stood at 0.78% on 18 June following England’s opening win against Croatia, before falling to 0.75% in the day following its Ghana draw.

Overall workplace absences, combining annual leave and sickness, were up by 8%-16% following England’s two weeknight group-stage fixtures against Croatia and Ghana. The largest increases were recorded in the construction, manufacturing and engineering sectors.

This week prime minister Keir Starmer hinted there could be an extra bank holiday if England were to win the World Cup. England’s next game against Norway is on Saturday night at 10:00pm, but a potential semi-final (against either Argentina or Switzerland) will be on Wednesday 15 July at 8:00pm.

The findings contrast with wider absence trends this year. Across the same seven-week period, annual leave has fallen by 5.3% compared with 2025, while sickness absence is down 14% year on year, indicating that the World Cup has created a distinct spike in planned leave rather than unplanned absence.

Citation said the data suggested employees were planning ahead to watch matches or recover after late-night kick-offs, rather than taking unauthorised sickness absence. It also points to employers taking a pragmatic approach by allowing greater flexibility over annual leave requests during the tournament.

Gill McAteer, employment law director at Citation, said there were signs that employers and employees were working together to minimise disruption.

“There are signs in this data that employers and employees are working together to find a way for everyone to enjoy the World Cup without causing disruption to businesses or conflict among teams.

“There is no requirement for employers to depart from their established policies for leave during an event like this. However, our advice to HR teams and businesses is that a little understanding and flexibility goes a long way.”

However, Citation’s figures did not include England’s 2:00am match against Mexico on Monday 6 July, with its potential for more employees either to call in sick or request last-minute leave.

The pattern was similar in Scotland. IRIS Software found that against a baseline average of 0.95%, sickness rates stood at 0.55% following Scotland’s 14 June fixture and 0.92% after their 25 June match.

Stephanie Coward, managing director of people at IRIS, said: “World Cup fever can quickly lead to fears that businesses will be left playing with a few people down, especially when England are heading into the latter stages of a tournament.

“But the data suggests those fears have been overblown so far. Across the key England and Scotland matchdays we looked at, sickness rates have remained below or broadly in line with normal levels.”

“That should give employers some reassurance if England get past Norway and attention turns to a midweek semi-final. Big national moments can create plenty of noise, but they do not automatically translate into a workplace absence problem.”