Top 10 excuses to skip work for Euro 2016 matches revealed

With the England versus Wales Euro 2016 match kicking off tomorrow, a new research survey of 1351 people from reed.co.uk has found the top 10 excuses truant employees will use to try to skip work and watch the game at 2pm on Thursday, 16 June.

Failing household appliances, fake funerals and poorly pets are just some of the excuses the study suggests bosses could be hearing ahead of kick-off. The reed.co.uk research also reveals that as many as one in 20 UK workers could consider pulling a sickie to watch Thursday’s match.

When it comes to excuses, it’s little surprise that feigning illness was the most popular, with faux food poisoning and sudden bouts of summer flu claiming the top two spots. And for some honesty is the best policy with ‘staying home and watching the football’ coming in at number three on the list of reasons to be absent from work.

Here’s the rundown of the top 10 excuses employers can expect to hear:

• I’ve got food poisoning
• I’ve got flu
• I want to stay home and watch the football
• My dog is sick
• I’ve got a doctor’s/dentist appointment
• My washing machine flooded the house
• I’ve had an allergic reaction
• I need to go to a distant relative’s funeral
• My car broke down
• My child is sick

Despite the risk of employees sloping off to watch the football, the research also revealed that only 12% of employers have made provisions for staff to watch games that air during work hours.

Lynn Cahillane, Communications Manager at reed.co.uk, says: “Euro 2016 is an exciting event for many football fans, however, with some of the group games scheduled to take place during work hours, it could become problematic for staff and employers alike.

“To avoid any football-related absenteeism from now until 10 July, we encourage employers to be flexible and consider showing key games on screens in the office or allow staff to watch on their own devices. Employees keen to enjoy the games at work should come to an agreement with their line manager beforehand.”