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 | | Monday, 29 April, 2002, 23:47 GMT 00:47 UK Bosses told: 'Support World Cup slackers'  Up to 7m staff have already booked World Cup days off Employers are being told to be flexible with workers wanting to take time off to watch England's World Cup games. Facing the prospect of empty offices up and down the country, the government is now urging employers to bow to the inevitable. Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt has suggested if bosses cannot let staff take time off they should, where possible, be allowed to watch the matches and make up the time at a later date. She told the BBC: "Nobody wants half the country to take a sickie to watch an exciting game.
"The sensible thing is for employers to think about this now and do what good employers always do and organise working hours flexibly so they meet the needs of the business but also the employees." The tournament is being staged in Japan and Korea so matches will fall either during the early morning, British time, or at the latest, lunchtime. England's clash with Argentina is at 1230 BST on 7 June. A survey carried out by the BBC earlier this month showed that about a third of employees would happily fake illness to watch Sven Goran Eriksson's men in action. Ms Hewitt is leading by example and has promised civil servants she will not schedule meetings for her department during England matches. Special licences have been granted for some pubs to open early so fans can enjoy a tipple during the early games. | | See also:  Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top Business stories now:  Links to more Business stories are at the foot of the page. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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