WIN, lose or draw, the gargantuan quantities of booze bought in anticipation of England's Euro 2004 opener against France will today be fuelling emphatically unsporting hangovers.

And those same hangovers will, no doubt, have hampered the creative thought processes of hundreds, if not thousands, of Mancunians who decided this morning that the best course of action was to make like a crocked forward and call in sick.

"Er, I won't be in today because the dog ate my patriotic Cross of St George underpants - and I was wearing them," might be worth a try, but probably won't impress the boss.

For British business, however, bogus sick days, costing a staggering '1.75bn a year, are no laughing matter.

One employment agency - Pertemps - has dubbed today Green Monday in anticipation that last night's kick-off will have encouraged workers to over-indulge. And in Manchester, recently revealed as the city topping the sick leave league, there are even more reasons to be concerned.

Manchester Chamber, which represents the interests of hundreds of employers across the city, suggests that loyalty, trust and education are the predominant issues at play.

"Our members don't want to penalise people who are genuinely ill," says Jane Ogden, the chamber's policy executive for employment and skills. "But a single day off sick can cause massive upheaval for businesses and co-workers.

"The cost to the business very much depends on the type of workplace. Some manufacturing firms have no option but to hire temporary staff.

"Other issues include the morale of the staff left to take up the slack. Somebody has to do the work, somebody has to pick up the telephone, somebody has to work that little bit harder. It reduces customer service and sends a bad message."

Sick leave can be bad for business in other ways, too, says Ogden, who believes Manchester's lead in the skiving league might be due to a transient, student workforce and a large proportion of manufacturing workers.

Employee

An absent employee might miss a crucial business meeting, which would have led to a massive, new contract. An e-mail about urgent supplies might not be opened in time.

"The solution boils down to education and taking steps to minimise disruption," Ogden suggests.

"With honesty and openness, policies can be introduced to allow people to take annual leave at short notice. Of course, this would take careful planning.

"The American idea of the duvet day - opting at short notice to take a day's holiday - could work in some businesses.

"Loyalty and trust are crucial. Employees must realise that they are an important part of the production line."

BUT be extremely cautious before picking up the phone and putting on your best impression of an ill person. Big business is already conjuring pills to deal with the expensive pain of employee absence.

Tesco, with a workforce of 237,000 staff and stores across the country, last month announced that they would no longer pay employees for their first three days off work.

Asda, Next, Sainsbury's and Debenhams all followed suit.

But, as an employee, where do you stand?

Sick leave entitlements largely depend on your contract of employment, although legislation dictates a minimum level of support for the poorly employee. It dictates that a sick employee becomes entitled to payment on the fourth day of leave - and even then it is only available at the meagre sum of '66.15 per week.

Anthony Sutcliffe, a senior employment lawyer at Salford's Peninsula Business Services, says: "Companies should let it be known that any sick leave after an event like last night's game will be carefully scrutinised.

"An employee has to carefully consider the risk they are taking. If you are engaged in a particularly vital job, then falsely taking sick leave could lead to gross misconduct and dismissal. At the very least, you might expect a written warning.

"And, if you continue to lie after having been found out, then that could also represent gross misconduct.

"Throwing a sickie really isn't worth the risk."

And so, here's a sobering thought ahead of England's second Euro 2004 clash against Switzerland on Thursday. Losing your job might give you plenty of time to catch up with the tournament, but there'll be no money to buy the beer as Beckham and the boys continue their hard work.

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