The ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic, has led many companies around the country to place staff on furlough. This means that companies will claim 80% of their staff wages according to the terms the Government have set out in their Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
So, what is furlough?
By placing a staff member on furlough, means they are entitled to receive 80% of their salaries up to the cap of £2,500 per month.
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is a temporary scheme which is open to all UK employers for at least three months, having started on March 1.
Who has this affected?
One job sector that has been significantly affected by COVID-19 is the football industry. The footballing season was postponed on 12 March, with major competitions such as the UEFA European Championships due to take place in June being pushed back until next year.
With the suspension of football until at least the 30 April, in an attempt to safeguard the future of Football Clubs and the jobs of those who work for them, many clubs have taken the decision to place some of their employees on furlough leave.
Which clubs have done this?
Lincolnshire’s very own Lincoln City have recently placed their staff on the furlough scheme. In a statement made on 31 March the club announced a small number of team members would remain in their normal positions to run day to day operations of the club, while the others would be placed on furlough to safeguard the future of the club.
Newcastle United became the first club in the country to put their staff on furlough. They placed all non-first-team staff on the scheme, in order to help ensure the club’s financial survival.
Other Premier League teams such as Tottenham Hotspur and Norwich City soon followed suit, also placing their non-playing staff on furlough.
On April 2 it was announced Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe and some other first team staff have voluntarily taken significant pay cuts to provide more money to be shared between other members of the staff at the club.
Issues this has caused.
Placing non-playing staff on this scheme has caused Premier League football clubs to be accused of operating a ‘moral vacuum’ due to still paying their players their full wage, while cutting the wages of others within the club, with some arguing players should also be receiving pay cuts or volunteering to do so.
Sadiq Khan, the major of London told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Highly-paid football players are people who can carry the greatest burden and they should be the first one to, with respect, sacrifice their salary, rather than the person selling the programme or the person who does catering or the person who probably doesn’t get anywhere near the salary Premier League footballers get.”
Premier League clubs are yet to respond to the criticism and yet to comment of why they are not cutting players salaries.
With the uncertainty of when the footballing season may resume it is likely we will see more clubs place some of their staff on furlough to help in job preservation and to aid in helping with club finances.