Spurs release further update to staff wage cuts and use of Government’s furlough scheme

Tottenham Hotspur have released a statement to provide an update on their original decision to hand 550 employees a wage cut where whey would have been paid 80 per cent of their salary for the next two months, with the Government’s furlough scheme utilised.

The North London outfit have now moved to announce that all staff will receive 100 per cent of their wages for April and May with just those who are on the board taking a salary reduction.

Staff wages are due not paid until the end of the month so there has been no financial harm done to the employees but it has meant a lot of uncertainty over the last couple of weeks which does the club no good from a PR perspective.

The club have also announced that they will no longer utilise the Government’s furlough scheme following complaints from supporters.

The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust had previously told the club “there is still time” for the Champions League Finalists “do the right thing” following their decision to use the government’s furlough scheme and it appears they have now listened.

The statement read: “In our last update we said we would keep our position under review, especially in the context of revised budgets and cost-cutting. Having done so we have decided that all non-playing staff, whether full-time, casual or furloughed, will receive 100 per cent of their pay for April and May. Only the Board will take salary reductions.”

It adds: “We are acutely aware that many supporters were against the decision we made regarding furloughing staff who could not carry out their jobs from home – due to the nature of their work – and our intention to apply, if applicable, for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), a scheme designed to ensure that jobs and employment rights are protected.

“Indeed we have seen opposition from fans to fellow Premier League clubs accessing the CJRS too. This once again underlines that we bear different pressures to other businesses, many of whom have and will continue to apply for support from the scheme as the Government intended.

“In view of supporter sentiment regarding the scheme, it is now not our intention to make use of the current CJRS that runs until the end of May. We shall consult with stakeholders, including the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust with whom we have been in dialogue over the past week and who share our desire to protect jobs, should circumstances change going forward.”