image courtesy of Getty Images If England wins the final Euro 2020 championship on Sunday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under pressure to offer workers a one-off bank holiday. On Friday, a petition on the Parliament website received 320,000 signatures. According to the report, an extra day off would allow families to watch the game together. Giving a bank holiday now, Mr Johnson argued, would be “tempting fate.” The TUC, a trade union, is also pushing employers to be flexible, enabling staff to start later on Monday if possible. “Bosses should chat to their colleagues about flexible working arrangements ahead of Monday morning, maybe letting them to start later and claim back their time,” added general secretary Frances O’Grady. “I don’t want to predict the outcome of Sunday’s match,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman remarked. We obviously want England to win the final and go all the way, and we’ll lay out our plans after that.” All petitions with more than 100,000 signatures are considered for a debate by Parliament. “English people would naturally want to continue to enjoy the win, offering the retail and leisure industry a much-needed opportunity to make up lost profits,” according to the petition, which was established by marketing manager Lee Jones. Will England’s victory help the British economy? ‘Euro 2020 is a lifeline for my pub’A victory for England over Italy on Sunday night would be the country’s first big victory since winning the World Cup in 1966. The game is scheduled to end at 10 p.m., but if it goes to extra time, it might be closer to 11 p.m.; the semi-final versus Denmark on Wednesday ended at 10.45 p.m. Some businesses are already planning for the possibility of a staff hangover and are attempting to mitigate the problem. “We do have a lot of England fans, but it’s extremely difficult,” Ian Uttley, director of transport firm Stagefreight, told the BBC’s Wake Up to Money Programme, “but it’s very difficult.” We attempt to give them later shifts, but they are professional drivers doing a professional job at the end of the day.” We’re attempting to provide them with some time off. Although it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, we work seven days a week and there is always someone in a truck somewhere who needs to drive the next day. Someone has to get the food from the warehouse to the supermarket shelves and into the stores.” “We expect them to limit alcohol limits and we expect them to be under the limit when they start driving,” he added, adding that tight inspections were in place to ensure no one was enticed to overindulge. Downing Street is in favor of the proposal, stating that employers that are able should be flexible in enabling employees to come in late on Monday or take the day off if England wins. “We would like firms who feel able to consider it if they can,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said, “but we recognize it will vary depending on the business and company.” Mr Johnson has already stated that pubs will be allowed to stay open until 11.15 p.m. on Sunday to avoid people being asked to leave before the game ends. Downing Street has stated that any celebrations for the England squad, such as a victory parade, will be announced “in due course,” but has not confirmed whether plans for a potential bank holiday are in the works. The economy of the United Kingdom/n
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