When most of the top clubs in the United Kingdom are cutting down wages like Tottenham while some are placing their non-playing staff on furlough like Liverpool football club, Manchester City became the first club to confirm that it would not place its non-playing staff on furlough.
Tottenham announced recently that the club had to cut down the wages of its non-playing staff to keep the club afloat amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Recall that all the leagues in the United Kingdom have been suspended due to the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic. Since there were no live matches, clubs in the United Kingdom, have been complaining that they are running out of funds to sustain the smooth running of the club.
Hence, the government authorities came up with the furlough policy to assist the club and equally save jobs amid the raging pandemic.
Furlough Policy?
When an employee is placed on furlough they are temporarily put on a leave of absence and not paid, although they remain on the payroll, meaning that they do not lose their job.
This could be because there is no work for these employees, or that the company is not able to afford to pay them, because of the effects of the coronavirus crisis.
In the United Kingdom, the Government is offering to pay 80 per cent of a furloughed employee’s wages, up to £2,500 per month, until they are able to resume their job full time. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will last for at least three months from March 1.
Liverpool embraces furlough
One of the first top clubs to key into this policy is Liverpool who announced during the weekend that some of its non-playing staff have been placed on furlough.
About 200 staff, whose work has been affected by the suspension of the Premier League, have been furloughed in Liverpool alone.
This decision of the club to furlough such a number of staff have attracted heavy criticism from analysts, saying the club merely decided to take advantage of the policy to make some profits for itself.
Pacesetter
In the other hand, Manchester City’s chief operating officer Omar Berrada wrote to all club staff over the weekend to assure them that the club will protect their jobs and the club won’t key into the furlough policy.
“We can confirm, following a decision by the Chairman and Board last week, that Manchester City will not be utilising the UK Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme,” a spokesperson said.
However, the club is part of the 20 Premier League clubs that are negotiating with their players and the Professional Football Association (PFA) for a pay cut to reduce the financial burden on the clubs amid the coronavirus pandemic.
