According to the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 62% of employers in the city are not making any special provisions for staff.
The last of England’s group stage matches is the only to be shown during office hours, but 47% of bosses said they will not allow employees to watch the game, while a further 15% said it simply wasn’t an option they could consider because of the nature of their business.
Of those employers that said they will let staff watch the match, 13% said they would screen it at work, 12% said they would allow people to leave the office, and a further 12% indicated employees would be able to watch on their computer.
Larger companies are more likely to let their staff watch England play, with bosses that have 20 staff or more split down the middle – 50% say they will let staff watch the match, while 50% say they will not.
The majority of those companies that are letting workers watch the England game are also making similar arrangements for non-UK workers, with 65% saying employees will be able to watch their own team play.
Meanwhile, amid talk of World Cup absence among London’s workforce, 63% of businesses anticipate no issues with staff absence: 34% said they would expect some problems and just 3% expected serious problems.
Peter Bishop, deputy chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), said: While many employers will be allowing staff to cheer on England, some companies, particularly smaller ones, simply can’t afford a drop off in productivity. People may wonder what impact just one match could have on the office day, but when you consider that London has a huge international workforce, many working hours could be lost as some staff will want to watch a team other than England play.