Staff at an Exeter software development company will be cheering on England's bid for World Cup glory in office hours after bosses decided to let them watch a match on the firm's new plasma screen TV.

The 40-strong workforce at MSM will watch England play Slovenia on June 23 — the only one of England's group games which has an afternoon kick-off.

MSM has recently invested in a new plasma screen TV as part of an upgrade and it is planning on using this to watch the match later this month. Staff will also be allowed to bring in alcohol — provided they do not have to drive home.

MSM managing director, Thomas Coles, said: "We have been very lucky to have built an extremely good team at all levels and it's good to give something back."

Mr Coles said a few non-football fans would be working as usual, with non-English members of the team happy to watch the match.

MSM, which specialises in the charity and insurance sectors, has its base on the Matford Business Park, with offices in London, Bristol and Dublin.

Mr Coles added: "We thought that it was better to embrace it rather than fight against it. On the day, productivity will be reduced, but in terms of productivity over the course of the month, I would expect a greater sense of buy-in. Overall, I think the effects will be positive."

The tournament, in South Africa, will be staged from June 11 to July 11, and Business Link has said it is likely to have a major impact on employers throughout the South West.

It warned that with more than 570 hours of football being screened during the four-week competition, 23 of the 64 games are due to take place during office hours.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and Abbey Legal Protection have teamed up to produced guidance on how small firms can avoid employment issues during the tournament.

The advice, which can be found at www.fsb.org.uk, is split into two areas — employees who ask for time off and advice concerning employees who fail to turn up for work on match or post-match days.

David Shephard, FSB Devon policy chairman, said: "Sorting out these issues before the first game kicks off means everyone can relax and enjoy the matches, while making sure jobs still get done. Firms and their staff can reap the reward of the feel-good factor that accompanies the World Cup without disputes dampening the party atmosphere."

Rhodri Davey, employment partner at law firm Kitsons, urged businesses to devise a clear set of rules around time off and other issues relating to the World Cup.

"Businesses should come up with a clear system around granting time off rather than an ad hoc approach," he said.

"You can get last-minute absenteeism. People that want to do it properly will put in for holiday, but it could have an impact on the number of people who are off work and less scrupulous people will take it as a sick day."

Mr Davey added: "Businesses should treat it as business as usual. There are implications around saying to a workforce, 'Have the afternoon off'. What happens if you have a workforce of different nationalities? You could be straying into the realms of race discrimination."

Where firms do adopt a flexible approach, Mr Davey said they should have clear policies around how annual leave will be granted.

"If businesses are in a situation where they're turning down a request for time off, can they reference it to a series of objective rules? If they're dealing with it on a wing and a prayer they will be more vulnerable to be criticised that the policy is discriminatory," he said.

Kitsons has also devised an advice guide available at www.kitsons-solicitors.co.uk