Employers ignoring Government's World Cup plea, says CIPD

The majority of UK organisations are being inflexible over allowing their staff to watch England's game with Argentina, according to a new survey report - "Getting a Kick out of Work" - by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). This is despite a call from Patricia Hewitt, Trade and Industry Secretary, who said that staff should be allowed to watch the match wherever possible, and allowed to make up time later, "the last thing they (employers) need is the entire workforce taking a sickie on the day of a big match."

The survey shows that thirty per cent of organisations are providing on-site television, 16% are allowing internet access while just 15% of organisations are planning to allow employees time off to watch either all or some of the games.

The survey shows almost 1 in 4 organisations reporting that senior management is not supportive of their flexible working policies, which may explain why such practices are not widely adopted.
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