Following England’s 1-0 victory over Serbia in their first match of the 2024 Euros, an HR expert has revealed whether you can legally be fired for calling in sick to watch the tournament.

It’s estimated that some 31 million TV viewers tuned in to watch the 2020 Euros final, equivalent to nearly half of the UK population.

After Sunday night’s match came the Monday morning commute, undoubtedly full of sore heads and people wishing they could’ve stayed in bed for an extra few hours.

As the tournament continues and England (hopefully) makes their way through, more and more people may come to realise that their work schedules clash with the big games.

While everyone has considered pulling a sickie once or twice, the timing of the Euros may make it glaringly obvious that you’re just trying to sneak off work to watch England, but is this a sackable offence?

HR expert Neil Finegan from distance learning provider, DLC Training, explains whether you can face disciplinary actions, or even be sacked as a result.

He said: “As long as you follow the dedicated sick leave policy in your workplace, it’s very difficult for a business to sack you, even if you call in sick following a sporting event like the Euros.

“So if you are genuinely ill, and need to take time off work to recover, make sure to do this as much in advance as you can, and check to see whether your workplace requires a doctor’s note, or return to work assessment.

“However, businesses will be well aware that some of these absences might be hangover-related. If your colleagues have access to your social media and see you cheering on the match, they might raise suspicions about the integrity of your sick leave, and you could face disciplinary action, as this would be considered a conduct issue.”

However, he added that social media posts may not be sufficient evidence to dismiss someone, so you may be able to get away with sharing snaps of your friends at the pub, but it’s probably best not to risk it.

Finegan concluded: “Businesses must carefully consider data protection and privacy laws before relying on a person’s social media for such evidence. In this day and age, it can be tricky to determine if a post is original, or if it has just been reshared from another source. Wrongful dismissal of an employee could land a business with a huge fine.

“For any big football fans that predict they might be unable to work the day after a match, I recommend getting your annual leave booked in as soon as the fixtures are released to avoid any issues.”