World Cup and Work: Your Rights as a UK Employee

The Legal Position: No Automatic Right to Time Off

UK employment law does not provide employees with any automatic or additional right to time off work to watch sporting events, including the World Cup. The statutory minimum annual leave entitlement of 5.6 weeks per year under the Working Time Regulations 1998 can be used for this purpose, but employees must request leave through their normal workplace process and employers retain the right to refuse requests for legitimate business reasons.

This position is unaffected by whether England, Scotland, Wales or any other UK nation is participating in the tournament. National sporting interest does not create additional employment law rights. ACAS publishes guidance specifically on managing major sporting events in the workplace, available at acas.org.uk, which is the primary reference for both employers and employees navigating tournament periods.

Requesting Annual Leave: The Employee's Options

The most straightforward route for employees who want time off during the World Cup is to request annual leave through the standard workplace process. This might mean taking a full day of annual leave when a significant match falls on a working day, or accumulating leave to cover a longer absence for travel to the tournament.

Employees who have already used a significant portion of their annual leave entitlement for the year may have limited leave available to request. Annual leave accrues throughout the leave year and employers can restrict how much leave can be taken at particular times of year, particularly in businesses where seasonal demand peaks or where particular periods require full staffing.

Where an employer refuses a leave request, the Working Time Regulations 1998 require the employer to give counter-notice of at least equal length to the leave requested. If an employee requests two days of leave and the employer refuses, the employer must give at least two days notice of the refusal. The regulations do not require the employer to explain or justify the refusal, though good employment practice under ACAS guidance suggests that reasonable explanation supports employee relations.

Flexible Working Arrangements

Many employers choose to offer flexible arrangements during major tournaments. Common voluntary accommodations include adjusted start and finish times on match days, extended lunch breaks that can be used to watch a live match, remote working on match days to give employees greater flexibility over their environment, and temporary shift swaps between employees to enable those who want to watch matches to accommodate colleagues who do not.

All of these are voluntary employer decisions. There is no legal requirement for an employer to offer any of them. However, employers who refuse to consider any accommodation during major events, particularly where the matches fall largely outside standard working hours due to the North American time zone difference, may find that employee relations and morale are affected.

The statutory right to request flexible working is available to all employees from day one of employment under the Employment Relations Act 2023. Employees can make a statutory flexible working request at any time, but the right is to have the request considered and responded to within two months, not the right to have it approved. A World Cup is not a special legal reason that compels approval of a flexible working request.

Time Zone Considerations for North American World Cup Matches

A World Cup hosted across the USA, Canada and Mexico means that many group stage matches will kick off in the afternoon or evening North American time, which corresponds to late evening or overnight UK time. Evening matches in New York or Chicago typically kick off between 8pm and 10pm local time, which is 1am to 3am BST. Matches in West Coast cities like Los Angeles kick off even later in UK terms.

This time zone difference significantly reduces the workplace conflict compared to a European or Middle Eastern World Cup. The majority of matches do not fall during standard UK working hours. Matches in East Coast US cities during daytime hours there might correspond to early evening UK time and be largely outside working hours for standard 9-to-5 employees. However, some afternoon matches in North American time zones could coincide with late afternoon UK working hours, particularly for employees who work late shifts or flexible hours.

Early group stage matches sometimes schedule 2pm or 3pm local time kickoffs, which correspond to 7pm to 8pm BST - again largely outside standard working hours. The tournament schedule should be checked against individual working patterns to identify which matches, if any, genuinely fall during contracted working hours.

Watching Matches During Working Hours

Watching a football match on a personal device, streaming service, or other screen during contracted working hours, without prior explicit employer permission, is a breach of the employment contract. Time spent watching a match is time not spent on contracted work duties. Employers can treat this as a disciplinary matter under their standard disciplinary procedures.

Whether employers choose to enforce this in practice during a major tournament varies enormously between organisations. Some employers actively facilitate match viewing in communal areas. Some ignore informal viewing during breaks. Others are strict about contracted working time. Employees should not assume that colleagues doing something means it is permitted - the individual employment contract and the employer's stated policy determine what is and is not acceptable.

If an employer communicates explicitly that it will permit match viewing during breaks or at specified times, this effectively creates a temporary temporary permission for that limited purpose. This permission should ideally be in writing to avoid any subsequent dispute about what was permitted.

Travelling to the Tournament

Employees who wish to travel to North America to attend World Cup matches in person need sufficient annual leave to cover the entire period of absence. There is no additional statutory leave entitlement for attending international sporting events. A travel period for multiple matches across different host cities could require two to three weeks or more of annual leave depending on the itinerary.

Unauthorised absence from work - including absences that occur because annual leave was refused and the employee chose to travel anyway - can be treated as a serious disciplinary matter. In some cases, persistent or flagrant unauthorised absence can justify dismissal. An employee who has been refused leave for tournament travel should either accept the refusal and not travel, request leave from a different part of the leave year, or discuss alternative arrangements with their employer rather than simply not attending work.

Equal Treatment: All Teams, All Fans

If an employer chooses to offer any flexible arrangements during the tournament, ACAS guidance and general principles of good employment practice require that these arrangements are offered consistently to all employees regardless of which team they support or whether their national team is participating. An employer who allows England fans to watch England matches but refuses the same accommodation to fans of other nations could face grievance proceedings on grounds of inconsistent treatment.

Similarly, an employer who allows male employees to watch football but refuses the same accommodation to female employees watching the same event could face sex discrimination claims if the differential treatment cannot be objectively justified. Consistency in applying any policy is important both as a matter of legal risk management and good employment practice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my employer refuse to let me take annual leave during the World Cup?

Yes. Employers can refuse annual leave requests for legitimate business reasons, including operational requirements, existing leave bookings by other employees, or the business simply needing staff at that time. They must give counter-notice at least equal to the leave requested when refusing. There is no World Cup exception to standard leave refusal rights.

Can I watch a match on my phone during my lunch break?

During an unpaid lunch break where you are not on contracted time, watching a match on your own device in your own time is generally not a matter for employer discipline, unless the employer has a specific policy prohibiting personal device use on site. Check your employer's policies. During paid contracted working time, watching a match without permission is a different matter entirely.

What if my employer lets some people watch matches but not others?

Inconsistent application of any policy creates both an employment relations problem and a potential legal exposure. If you believe you are being treated less favourably than comparable colleagues without objective justification, you can raise a formal grievance under your employer's grievance procedure. ACAS provides guidance on the grievance procedure at acas.org.uk.

Do I get paid if my employer decides to let everyone leave early to watch a final?

If the employer decides to close early or release staff early, employees are typically entitled to their normal pay for the period unless the contract of employment specifically provides otherwise. The employer cannot unilaterally deduct pay for a closure that the employer has initiated.

Can I be sacked for taking unauthorised absence to watch the World Cup?

Depending on the circumstances and your employment history, a serious or repeated unauthorised absence could potentially justify dismissal following a fair disciplinary process. Employers must follow a fair procedure in line with the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures before dismissing. An employee with two or more years service has the right not to be unfairly dismissed and can bring an unfair dismissal claim in the Employment Tribunal if the procedure was not followed correctly.