HANGOVERS could start having a devastating effect on the UK economy next year.

The warning comes from the Reed employment agency, which has offices in Regent Street, Swindon.

With the introduction of the new Licensing Act next year, pubs will be able to apply for 24-hour licences.

A Government report released a year ago by the Cabinet Office strategy unit found almost 11 million working days are being lost each year to alcohol dependence, and the total annual cost to British business is anything from £1.2 billion to £1.8 billion.

On average employees turn up hungover and much less efficient than usual between two and three days a year.

But, having asked workers what they think of the prospect of later opening hours, the results are not promising.

Workers across all sectors believe the advent of 24-hour drinking will affect the workplace and this belief is strongest among those aged between 18 and 25.

The sector with the greatest fear is retail and distribution.

The manager of reed.co.uk, Martin Warnes, said: "This research appears to question Government hopes that 24-hour licences will lead to a more relaxed, Continental-style attitude towards drinking outside work hours.

"It's interesting to recall that licensing laws were first introduced because munitions workers in the First World War couldn't perform tasks properly. Perhaps the Government ought to bear this in mind before trying to introduce a European drinking culture through legal changes."

But Swindon Council's licensing office Lionel Starling says he is not convinced that later opening hours will see drinkers rush out to get more drunk.

He said: "The centre of Swindon already has several late licences but the evidence is that people behave in a traditional way you still get massive movement between premises at 'closing time,' although in reality that's gone.

"The other element about losing working days is the fashion for drinking before going out."

Geethika Jayatilaka, director of policy and public affairs at Alcohol Concern, said: "The findings highlight a serious concern among employers that new licensing reforms may exacerbate current problems in the workplace as a result of over-indulgence."