BrightHR has seen a 322% increase in annual leave requests received from 10pm last night until 10am this morning for Monday 12th July compared to people requesting Monday off during the same period the week before

Overall annual leave requests for next Monday are up 109.6% compared to Monday 5th July

*These stats come from analysis of our absence management software that monitors around 250,000 employees

Alan Price is CEO at Bright HR. He says: “The success of the England team at the Euro’s has provided a much-needed morale boost; exactly what the country has needed after being locked down for so long.

“I would encourage all companies to embrace the positivity, look ahead and encourage people to book annual leave in advance rather than calling in sick after the games. Being flexible when handling holiday requests and embracing the positive mood of the country will mean businesses are less likely to struggle with a sickness hangover the day after the match. We saw a 41% increase in sickness absence the day after the England-Germany match, and I expect that celebration will be nothing in comparison to what we can expect to see should England win the tournament with the entire country wanting to celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime achievement!

“There will, of course, be genuine sickness absences the day after the big match so employers should never assume that someone is taking a sickie. If they have genuine cause to think the sickness absence is not genuine, they can investigate and potentially even take disciplinary action.

“Employees need to ask themselves, is it worth losing your job over a football match? If the answer is no, then put in a request for annual leave ahead of time or celebrate responsibly and go to work as expected. It’s also important to remember your company’s drug and alcohol policy and be sure to take public transport to work rather than driving, if you have consumed too much the night before”