WORKERS considering sneaking out a few minutes early tomorrow to catch the England-Switzerland game have been warned they could face dismissal.

The Euro 2004 clash has taken on added importance since England's defeat to France at the weekend and is now a must-win tie.

One national survey has claimed 62 per cent of workers intend taking the day off or leaving early legitimately or not to get a good seat in front of the television.

But if companies have fixed rules about start and finish times, even a 30- minute early departure for footie-mad staff could lead to disciplinary action, according to a leading employment lawyer.

Paul Archer, a partner in employment law at Lemon and Co in Swindon, said: "The employer is in a position to insist that people finish their working day at the normal agreed time.

"If they want to agree an early finish time that's OK, but there is no obligation for the employer to agree to one.

"If an employee is absent from work without permission, even if it is just leaving 30 minutes or an hour early, this could amount to serious misconduct."

Mr Archer said that providing companies followed fair disciplinary procedures, leaving work early could even be reasonable grounds for dismissal.

In particular, if an employee has asked to leave early but the employer has said no for whatever reason, leaving early anyway could amount to gross misconduct on the part of the employee.

Another problem can be if an employee goes sick on a match day and the employer suspects it is not a genuine illness.

Mr Archer said: "If there are reasonable grounds for believing that someone is not genuinely sick and they are just saying they are, that in itself is potentially serious misconduct.

"It needs to be reasonable grounds but there needs to be some evidential basis, and the burden is on the employer to find out."

But the best way is to strike a deal. Mr Archer said: "Employers might well want to say 'come in an hour earlier and you can leave early'.

"Fostering general goodwill amongst employees is generally seen as a good long-term aim."

Yesterday the Advertiser reported that many companies arond Swindon, including Cats Solutions in Rushey Platt and the Woolworths distribution centre on the Dorcan industrial estate, were planning to be flexible with employees' shifts to allow them to catch the big match.