Hatters to furlough staff as Luton's players wait to see if they will be asked to take pay cuts

Luton Town have confirmed they have been left with no option but to furlough a number of their staff to help the club's finances during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Hatters admitted it was a 'difficult decision', but the only one available to them with the country placed in lockdown over a week ago and the football season cancelled until April 30 at the earliest, meaning they have been drastically deprived of any income.

A statement on the club's official website went into further deal on the meaures in place, saying: "As the situation continues, difficult decisions must be made and action taken to ensure the stability of the club now, and in the future.

"We do not take these decisions lightly, and we recognise the insecurity that many of our employees will be feeling at this time.

"The Government’s Job Retention Scheme was designed to provide assistance to employers in order to avoid making scaled staff redundancies.

"After much consideration of the available facts, the difficult decision has been made to furlough a number of staff within the organisation over the coming weeks, including most of its football staff.

"However, it is important to note that the club will only furlough staff whose job function has genuinely been left vacant by the loss of football matches or day-to-day operational activity;

"At the point of the employee genuinely being stood down as a result of the loss of football matches or day-to-day operational activity (not simply from the 1st of March whether employees were working or not); and, where staff who, by being furloughed, are not placed into poverty by doing so, at which point their salaries will be topped up to a level that does not risk the club’s longer-term accreditation from the Living Wage Foundation.

"Once implemented the club will be transparent in providing statistics of the numbers of employees this will affect, however, it is likely that almost all employees requested to be furloughed will not be high earners.

"Employees of a higher earning salary will, in due course, be requested to volunteer into a programme of salary reduction or deferral to assist the business during the cashflow crisis."

Town's players have not been hit financially just yet, although that could change once discussions with the EFL and PFA have been concluded.

The statement continued: "The financial impact of the lockdown is severe and affects every single department at the club.

"No decision has been made, as yet, regarding how the club will ask players to help keep the club going.

"Despite other clubs arriving at an early agreement on the deferrals or reductions of players’ salaries, Luton Town doesn’t feel it is in a position to propose anything at this time to its playing squad.

"The club has had initial discussions with the Professional Footballers’ Association but has relaxed these, not wishing to prejudice discussions now taking place between the EFL and the PFA in order to jointly arrive at an agreeable position to assist clubs during this potentially catastrophic situation.

"Club executives have been keeping senior players abreast of the status and, once an agreement has been reached between these two authorities, the club will engage with its players in order to try and arrive at an agreement that is palatable to both parties.

"It is, however, important to note that during this time, the club feels that every member of staff will need to contribute in some way if the club is to safely navigate this uniquely challenging period and to retain a functioning club when we all exit it."

The Hatters also confirmed that they wouldn't be putting their players on furlough either in a bid to prevent taxpayers money going into funding the club, as the statement added: "Whilst other clubs are taking steps to place footballers on furlough leave professional players based at Kenilworth Road will not be requested to take furlough leave until further and direct advice is provided by the government or HMRC.

"It is the club’s belief that the intention and spirit of the Job Retention Scheme is to avoid, wherever possible, employee redundancies brought about by the loss of cashflow while businesses and society cope with the Coronavirus pandemic.

"The club does not believe, without further evidence, that taxpayer’s money should be used to fund the club in supporting its higher earning professional players, especially where such players are given personal training programmes at home, managed by club employees demonstrating that they are, technically, working.

"The club does not wish to place itself in a position where it could be scrutinised by HMRC at any given point in the future by making rash and potentially incorrect decisions at this time.

"Should any further, specific guidance be provided that the club feels would legitimatise such a claim, then it would reconsider its position at that time."