It’s inevitable. This time of year, every four years, staff begin calling in sick with mystery stomach bugs, and the holiday requests start piling up.
The 2026 World Cup has started, and unlike previous tournaments, it’s happening in America. That means in the UK, we’re looking at mostly evening and early morning kick-offs – practically guaranteeing that at least some of your team will stay up late and try to catch matches before work.
And with statutory sick pay now payable from day one following April 2026’s changes, absences carry more financial weight than they used to.
All that being said, this doesn’t have to be a disaster for businesses. With the right plan and clear expectations, you can manage the World Cup without losing your footing. You can keep your team engaged, control your costs, and maybe even come out of it having had fun yourself!
What the 2026 World Cup Means for Employers
1. Absences (Including Unauthorised Absences) and Lateness Will Rise
During the UEFA Euro matches in 2024, lateness increased by 50%. During the 2026 World Cup, with those awkward UK kick-off times, there’s a good chance that we’ll see that number climb once again.
BrightHR also forecasts that at least 3.6 million sick days will be taken across the UK during the tournament.
Beyond sickness, it would be wise to prepare for:
- Requests for late starts or early finishes to watch matches.
- Holiday requests clustering around key fixtures.
- Fatigue affects work quality (staying up to watch matches, then working the next day).
It’s also worth being clear with your team on what counts as unauthorised absence. If an employee doesn’t turn up for their shift and later claims that it was because they were off sick, this still counts as an unauthorised absence because the employee did not follow the correct policy to report their absence.
2. Statutory Sick Pay Costs Just Got Higher
In April 2026, statutory sick pay changed. Previously, employers weren’t required to pay SSP for the first three days of absence. Now, SSP is payable from day one. This is a significant shift, and it has landed in the same year as the 2026 World Cup tournament.
This means when your team calls in sick during the tournament, you’re paying them from day one of that absence.
According to BrightHR’s research, employers will pay over £94 million in statutory sick pay during the 2026 World Cup. For businesses relying on consistent staffing, it’s worth factoring this into how you plan for the next four weeks.
3. Social Media Amplifies Workplace Conflict
Workplace banter doesn’t always stay in the office. It often moves to social media, such as Slack channels, WhatsApp groups, and team chats, where conversations escalate quickly, and misunderstandings happen in writing.
A joke about a player becomes a comment about nationality. A friendly rivalry between fans becomes something that hurts a team member. And suddenly, what started as banter is damaging team culture.
Without a social media policy, it’s unclear how you should handle it. Is it workplace banter or a disciplinary issue? What’s acceptable in a team chat versus a public channel? Can you monitor it at all?
These questions are important because social media conflict during tournaments can have consequences such as:
- Team members feeling uncomfortable or excluded.
- Rifts forming between different groups of people.
- Damage to your reputation if conflicts spill into public channels.
- Uncertainty about where managers should intervene.
Four Strategies to Manage World Cup Absences and Control Costs
1. Be Proactive in Your Communication
Send out a clear message to your team covering:
- Your expectations for attendance and reporting absences.
- How annual leave requests should be made.
- That absences, including any unauthorised absences, will be monitored and handled consistently according to company policy.
- Any temporary flexible working options you’re offering.
- The importance of following your social media policy, especially in team channels.
What to communicate:
“We know the World Cup is exciting, and we want you to enjoy it. Here’s how we’re managing it fairly over the next four weeks: Report absences by 9 AM. We’ll track patterns consistently so we can manage fairly. If you’ve requested flexibility, here’s how that works. And in team chats — let’s keep the banter fun and respectful for everyone. Thanks for keeping it balanced.”
2. Allow and Encourage Planned Annual Leave
A planned absence is infinitely easier to manage than a surprise sickness call. It lets you arrange coverage and plan your staffing.
Encourage staff to book annual leave early for specific fixtures they want to watch. Use a first-come, first-served approach so it’s fair. Yes, this means some people won’t get their preferred days, but that’s better than dealing with surprise absences.
This also manages your SSP costs more predictably. Planned leave is paid by the employee’s contracted holiday entitlement, not SSP.
3. Offer Temporary Flexibility Where It Makes Business Sense
For some roles and business types, temporary flexibility can work. Shifting start times or finish times might let staff watch a match and still be present and focused the next day.
Be clear about what’s temporary: This isn’t a permanent change. It’s a four-week measure to keep morale up while managing the impact. After the tournament, everyone returns to their normal hours.
But only if it works: If flexible timing causes disruption with staff working at different times, pulls essential people away from critical work, or simply doesn’t work for your business model, don’t do it. It’s better to be consistent than to create different expectations.
4. Prepare Contingency Staffing Plans
Look at your critical roles. For those roles, identify:
- Cross-trained staff who can cover.
- Agency worker availability.
- Overtime options.
- Your absolute minimum staffing levels.
Having a plan means you’re not scrambling when absences, authorised or otherwise, happen. You’ve already identified who can step in, how you’ll manage it, and what your backup options are.
Building a Social Media Policy That Keeps Things Fair
Most businesses have a social media policy somewhere. Fewer have one that’s clear enough to effectively guide behaviour during something like the World Cup when team chats are buzzing and the line between banter and something more serious can blur quickly.
So what should a good social media policy cover?
Scope -be specific about which channels the policy applies to. Work Slack, Teams, and WhatsApp groups should be named explicitly. Most people don’t automatically think of a team chat as a “work channel,” so spelling it out removes any ambiguity.
Acceptable and unacceptable content -friendly rivalry and team support are fine. Comments referencing someone’s nationality, ethnicity, religion, or any other protected characteristic are not. Your policy should say this clearly so there’s no room for “I didn’t realise that was a problem.”
Personal accounts – if an employee mentions their employer on a personal social media account, your policy applies. This catches people out more than almost anything else. A post that starts “my colleagues at [company]…” represents your business, whether the employee intended it that way or not.
What happens if something goes wrong – your policy should point clearly to your disciplinary process without restating the whole thing.
Managers play a key role here too. If banter in a team channel starts to shift in tone, a quiet word early is almost always enough to bring things back on track.
And if something more serious does happen? Handle it the same way you would any other conduct issue. The process doesn’t need to change just because it happened in a WhatsApp group rather than a meeting room.
Stay on the Ball: Three Things to Do Before the Next Fixture
The World Cup is underway, but you can still control how well you manage the next four weeks. Your team is watching, and how you respond to requests and conflicts will set the tone for the whole tournament.
If you haven’t already, do these three things now:
1. Send a Clear Message to Your Team: It’s not too late. Send a message today outlining your expectations for the rest of the tournament:
- How you expect absences to be reported.
- That you’re monitoring patterns fairly (not assuming everyone’s lying, but not letting patterns slide either).
- Any flexibility you’re offering, and what that looks like.
- Team chats should stay respectful and fun for everyone.
2. Brief Your Managers on Social Media: Managers need to watch team channels over the next four weeks. If banter is getting heated or crossing lines, they should step in early and gently redirect. A quick conversation now prevents a bigger culture problem later.
3. Review Your Policies: Look at your absence, discipline, and social media policies. Are they clear? Are they fair? Do they reflect how you actually want to manage things? If you’re not sure, or if you realise gaps have crept in, our HR consultants can help you review and strengthen them. One conversation can save you weeks of stress.
The 2026 World Cup has the potential to disrupt your business over the next four weeks. But with clear expectations, fair policies, and proactive management, you can keep things on an even keel, control costs, and actually let your team enjoy the tournament without damaging morale or culture.
If you’d like a sense check on your approach or want to make sure your policies are in good shape, we’re happy to help – just get in touch.