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‘Start work at 11’ – but will other bosses be as flexible over England’s 1am match?

Employers are being urged to use their “common sense” to allow staff to work flexibly where they can.

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July 3, 2026
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‘Start work at 11’ – but will other bosses be as flexible over England’s 1am match?

ByJemma Crew and Oliver Smith, Business reporters

Published42 minutes ago

As World Cup fever builds ahead of Monday’s middle-of-the-night match, businesses are scrambling to work out how they handle the day after.

Employees who are hoping to stay up late for England’s clash with Mexico – which kicks off at 01:00 BST – will want to know what their options are.

While some industries such as manufacturing and retail will be less able to provide flexibility, others are offering bleary-eyed fans later starts so they can catch up on sleep.

Joshua Elash, who runs London-based firm MT Finance Group, is allowing his staff to start work at 11:00.

“It wasn’t a dilemma at all. This was as close to a no-brainer as a business can get,” he says.

“Everybody at this company works in the office. We don’t actually have a work from home policy here.

“We’re a finance company, so we think it’s important and critical that everybody is in and communicating and working together in real time.

“So yeah, under normal circumstances, all 125 of them would be here in the office at 08:45 or 09:00 Monday morning. But that certainly won’t be the case this Monday.”

Joshua says he and other senior managers will be staying up to watch the game, and says if he fancies a lie-in it’s only fair to extend that to the rest of the team.

“It’s good for morale,” he says, adding it will be worth it even if Monday isn’t a particularly productive day overall.

“Some things are more important than, you know, a day’s revenue,” he adds.

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On Thursday the government said pubs would be able to stay open until 05:00 on Monday.

Employers are being urged to use their “common sense and understanding” and allow flexible working requests where they can.

The TUC, the umbrella group for trade unions, says bosses where possible should allow staff to work from home, start later and make up their hours in the near future, or swap their hours.

John Palmer, senior advisor at conciliation service Acas, says firms must treat requests for time off fairly – there will be Mexico fans as well as England supporters in the workforce. Employees should be aware it might not be possible to book time off at short notice.

He adds some staff who have no interest in the football may be happy to swap shifts.

But some industries will be less able to offer flexibility than others. The British Chambers of Commerce says businesses where this will be challenging include manufacturing production lines, frontline retail and hospitality.

Its director of policy, Kate Shoesmith, says: “Ultimately, there will be some jobs, such as shift work, where it won’t be possible but we’re confident most employers will be thinking about how they can keep everyone onside.

“Talking to staff and customers about plans, can also help reduce disruption and decrease any impact on productivity.”

Supermarkets Sainsbury’s and Aldi say it will be business as usual in their stores on Monday.

Michelle Last, partner at Keystone Law, says employees don’t have a statutory right to take short-notice annual leave to watch a football match – “or to recover from watching one”.

But she says it might be prudent for employers to agree to short-notice leave requests.

“The alternative is that the employee might call in sick or turn up for work tired and unproductive in any event.

“Given this risk, employers might sensibly proactively encourage employees to apply to take annual leave in anticipation of the match. And hopefully, the ensuing celebrations.”