On Thursday, the government said pubs would be able to stay open until 05:00 on Monday – after earlier that day ruling this out. It was welcomed by some hospitality groups, but police criticised the “late” announcement.
Reports on Friday then suggested the 01:00 kick-off was set to be brought forward by six hours due to concerns over storms, before Fifa decided against this hours later.
The TUC, the umbrella group for trade unions, is calling for “common sense and understanding” concerning morning-after working arrangements.
The match will “have implications for workers across the country”, says its assistant general secretary Kate Bell.
She says employees should check what their contract says and what their rights are, and hopes bosses where possible will allow staff to work from home, start later or swap their hours.
“It won’t be possible for everyone, but we do know that where employers make that extra effort to show flexibility to their employees, people really appreciate it,” she says.
John Palmer, senior advisor at conciliation service Acas, says firms must treat requests for time off fairly – there will be Mexico fans as well as England supporters in the workforce. Employees should be aware it might not be possible to book time off at short notice.
According to the Federation of Small Businesses, smaller firms can often be more nimble as chains of command are shorter and it is simpler to amend working hours temporarily.
The British Chambers of Commerce says businesses where flexibility will be challenging include manufacturing production lines, frontline retail and hospitality.
Its director of policy, Kate Shoesmith, says: “Ultimately, there will be some jobs, such as shift work, where it won’t be possible but we’re confident most employers will be thinking about how they can keep everyone onside.
“Talking to staff and customers about plans, can also help reduce disruption and decrease any impact on productivity.”
Supermarkets Sainsbury’s and Aldi say it will be business as usual in their stores on Monday. There’s also no change for the car manufacturer Nissan.
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