The Federation for Small Businesses has hit out at the Amicus Union for giving its members advice on the risks of pulling a sickie to watch World Cup games.

The union said on its website: “It is quite difficult to prove that someone is not really sick if they have one day off… If you have a few days off which happen to be match days, your employer may well notice a pattern to your sickness.”

However Stephen Alambritis of the FSB told BBC radio: “It’s grossly unfair on staff who are not football fans when they see a union advising their other colleagues to take a sickie, so it’s grossly unfair on all staff in the workplace.”