A Staffordshire PR agency is calling on businesses to give their employees one-hour paid leave - so staff can vote in Thursday's election.
Stone Junction, based in Stafford, has pledged to give each of its 30 employees paid time off on December 12 to give its workforce time to cast their ballots.
It follows a surge in UK nationals registering to vote following the confirmation of the general election in September.
Stone Junction introduced the initiative two years ago, during the 2017 election, as part of efforts to boost voter turnout in Staffordshire and the West Midlands.
Now the company is urging other businesses to follow suit by giving employees time off to vote at their local polling station.
Stone Junction managing director Richard Stone said: "Although this festive season has been dominated by electoral jargon and politics it’s more important than ever that voters go to the polls.
"Despite polling stations opening outside typical working hours, many employees choose to go home after a long day, rather than using their vote. In fact, between 30 and 40 per cent of UK voters cite being too busy as their reason for not heading to the polls.
"At Stone Junction, we believe all employees should be given ample opportunity in the working day to cast their vote. With such a decisive and generation-defining election on the horizon, there couldn’t be more of an appropriate time for businesses to show support for the initiative."
