Daily Mail request: Is your small business offering flexible working during the World Cup?

The World Cup is the one event that turns even the most reliable employee into a creative excuse-maker, so smart small businesses get ahead of it.
A late kick-off shouldn't mean a late P45. The clients getting it right aren't spending a penny extra. They're letting people start an hour later after a midnight game, swapping shifts so fans cover for fans, putting the match on a screen in the office, and sharing a fixtures calendar so half-days are booked in advance and the rota never gets a nasty surprise. Just check you've got the right licence to screen games at work, or the only red card will be yours.
The smart ones offer the flex to everyone, not just the football-mad, so the colleague who couldn't tell you the offside rule gets the same goodwill for something they love. That's how you dodge resentment and keep output steady. Banning it won't make anyone work harder. It just sends them sneaking to the loo with their phone. Be the boss who joins them on the sofa instead.

Flexibility is being offered around late games, although based on England’s current performances, the policy may not be needed for very long. Staff can swap shifts, start later after big matches, or make the time up sensibly. The aim is to keep morale high without the business scoring an own goal on productivity. For small firms, this is about trust, not a free-for-all. And frankly, if employees can survive extra time, penalties and the national emotional wobble, they have probably earned a later start.

We're introducing a World Cup "ticket allocation" for staff. Everyone gets a modest number of virtual tickets they can cash in if they want to stay up for a late match and come into work a little later the next morning.

The idea is simple: treat people like adults. Major sporting events don't come around often, and a little flexibility can do wonders for morale.

That said, every tournament needs referees. Anyone arriving unable to function after a night of overindulgence may find themselves shown a yellow card. Repeat offenders risk a red card and forfeiting their remaining tickets.

Most people are sensible. Give employees some trust and they generally repay it with commitment and goodwill. A bit of flexibility, a bit of humour and a bit of common sense is far more realistic than pretending nobody stayed up to watch the game.