Pictured above: Nick Jew, head of employment in the Birmingham office of DLA Piper

Many councils and other public bodies are set to show the red card to staff wanting to watch the World Cup, a survey has revealed.

According to law practice DLA Piper, only 30 per cent of public sector respondents plan to allow staff flexibility to watch any of the matches, against 51 per cent of total employers, most of whom see a bit of give and take as good for morale following two tough years.

Few are looking further down the line, the report shows. Only 22 per cent of those planning to be sympathetic are offering the same freedom during other sporting events, such as Wimbledon or the forthcoming 2012 Olympic Games. 

"With just a few days to go before kick off on June 11, businesses may need to think more carefully about the precedent their approach to the World Cup may set for future sporting events," cautioned Nick Jew, head of employment in the Birmingham office of DLA Piper.

And with drink likely to be flying around and a predicted spike in the number of employees taking time off work to watch their team in action, he fears that UK businesses may not be as prepared as they should be to manage employee relations during the tournament - 68 per cent have issued no guidance to staff on acceptable behaviour and just 16 per cent are reviewing their alcohol policies.

If you support someone other than England then bad luck. Only 19 per cent of firms are allowing flexible options for non-England matches.

And, if you don't like football, then tough.

Of 352 business leaders and HR professionals from across the UK responding - 14 per cent from the Birmingham area - 76 per cent planned to offer no flexibility at all to staff who aren't in love with the beautiful game.

Mr Jew said: "After what has been a really tough couple of years, a lot of UK businesses are seeing the World Cup as providing a bit of light relief and are offering flexibility as a way of boosting employee relations, as well as trying to mitigate the impact of unexpected absences in the workplace.

"Shift swapping and flexible hours are all great strategies, but business leaders need to consider the finer implications of their actions. By failing to offer staff who follow teams other than England the same opportunities for flexible working, employers are potentially opening themselves up to allegations of discrimination. Equally, by not offering flexible working patterns to staff that don't follow football at all, and expecting them to pick up their colleagues work, bosses could be undoing much of the goodwill they have tried to create.

"Offering flexibility during a huge sporting tournament like the World Cup sets a precedent among staff, and employers would be well advised to remember that many people are just as passionate about tennis or athletics as they are football. Companies need to consider if they are willing and prepared to extend the same flexibility to staff for future events, or they could be setting themselves up for problems later."

However, employers are clearly relaxed about it all.

As one respondent commented: "For flexibility to work there has to be a culture of mutual trust, if this is achieved both parties have a win/win situation and so this vital give and take can be extended to anything. Having that trust means increased commitment, loyalty and motivation."