Many British workers plan to be out of the office for England games

More than a third of British people are prepared to miss work to watch England play during the World Cup, according to a survey.

An estimated 38 per cent of full-time workers aged 18 to 45 are planning to be out of the office to cheer their team, the YouGov survey found.

A total of 2,463 people were asked what they were likely to do to watch a particular match.

While five per cent said they would take a sickie, 18 per cent said they would go to the pub with friends or colleagues and 23 per cent said they would take the day or half-day off. Respondents were allowed to give more than one answer.

The survey found five per cent would be prepared to miss or reschedule their first day in a new job to watch a key game on television, 28 per cent would reschedule a planned business lunch and 17 per cent would defer a meeting with their boss.

Almost half of respondents (48 per cent) said being allowed to watch the key games would be the biggest booster to morale.

The survey was carried out for semiconductor company Telegent, which turns mobile handsets into portable televisions.

Spokeswoman Diana Jovin said: "People need a boost after 2009 and the World Cup is an opportunity for companies to profit from the spirit and energy that England matches generate.

"When people enjoy a good game together, they emerge with refreshed optimism. "Intelligent employers will use this to their advantage, whether it's allowing staff to watch matches online or on their mobiles, huddled around a TV in reception or lunch room, or going to the pub."

International legal practice DLA Piper also urged UK businesses to allow flexible working.

Head of employment Tim Marshall said: "After what has been a really tough couple of years, a lot of UK businesses are seeing the World Cup as providing a bit of light relief and are offering flexibility as a way of boosting employee relations, as well as trying to mitigate the impact of unexpected absences in the workplace.

"Shift-swapping and flexible hours are all great strategies, but business leaders need to consider the finer implications of their actions.

"By failing to offer staff who follow teams other than England the same opportunities for flexible working, employers are potentially opening themselves up to allegations of discrimination.

"Equally, by not offering flexible working patterns to staff that don't follow football at all and expecting them to pick up their colleagues' work, bosses could be undoing much of the goodwill they have tried to create."

In a survey of 352 business leaders and HR professionals, the company found 51 per cent were planning to offer flexible working to staff who wanted to watch the England games, with shift-swapping (33 per cent), early finishes (59 per cent) and late starts (35 per cent).