Millions of extra pints expected to be poured and £20million boost for pubs as England face DR Congo
England will play against DR Congo in Atlanta for the first round of the knockout stages on Wednesday at 5pm
Millions of extra pints are expected to be sold in pubs on Wednesday as England face DR Congo – while the number of workers calling in sick is predicted to increase.
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Four million extra pints are set to be poured on Wednesday, which would be a £20 million boost to pubs across the UK, according to estimates from the British Beer and Pub Association.
Meanwhile, some employers are allowing staff to work flexible hours, closing early or are bringing TVs into workplaces ahead of the 5pm kick-off, but Alan Price, chief executive of BrightHR, still expects there to be a rise in sickness on Wednesday and Thursday.
England will play against DR Congo in Atlanta for the first round of the knockout stages on Wednesday at 5pm.
It comes after previous England games were held at 9pm or 10pm BST.
Andy Tighe, chief strategy officer at the British Beer and Pub Association, said the game will be “a welcome boost to trade”.
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He said: “We’re very excited, it’s a great time, and because it’s the first knockout round as well it’s make or break, so there’s a lot riding on it.
“We are expecting the pubs to be busy.
“All in all, it should be a very positive evening for pubs, we’re very excited.”
He added: “We’ve definitely seen some big upticks across the country in pubs for the previous games as well.
“We’ve seen in previous tournaments that as the tournament progresses, the level of interest only increases.”
Mr Tighe said margins in pubs have been “squeezed and squeezed and squeezed”, so “occasions like this are as important as ever”.
He added: “It will be a welcome boost to trade at this time.”
Mr Price, from BrightHR – which provides HR software and advice and works with 68,000 small businesses in the UK – said they have already seen a 5% increase in employees that have booked time off from their systems.
He added: “Some employers are letting staff come in earlier so they can leave early, we’ve had calls saying ‘can we show it on TV in work’, some employers are bringing TV monitors in.
“Some people are working flexi, say you’re processing mortgage applications, that isn’t something that has to be done then, so some employers are being flexible.
“Some businesses are closing early.”
Mr Price also said he thinks there will be an increase in workers calling in sick, adding he believes there will be more sick calls on Thursday rather than Wednesday.
He said: “I think there will be more on Thursday, a lot of employers will have been flexible on Wednesday or had it on in the workplace, so we will see more sickness the day after.”