Workers at Morecambe FC are placed on furlough

Morecambe co-chairman Rod Taylor has revealed that the Shrimps are another club to have embarked on the furloughing process.
Morecambe's Globe ArenaMorecambe's Globe Arena
Morecambe's Globe Arena

They have joined other sides who have taken advantage of the government’s coronavirus job retention scheme after the global pandemic caused the football season to be suspended indefinitely.

The initiative is one that enables employers to claim a grant of up to 80 per cent on an employee’s salary, up to a cap of £2,500 per month.

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“We furloughed all the non-football staff last week,” Taylor said after the club held a board meeting on Tuesday.

“There isn’t a lot we can do. We have retained a skeleton staff of about six individuals, who are still working, but not necessarily from the ground.

“They have voluntarily taken a 20 per cent pay cut which is fair play to them – and they didn’t want to be any different to their colleagues.”

Since the pandemic took hold of society, furloughing has been carried out in businesses and sports across the globe.

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Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, Bournemouth and Norwich City chose to do so, only to attract strong criticism given the money earned by Premier League clubs – and Liverpool quickly reversed their decision.

Lower down the pyramid, Fleetwood Town’s non-playing staff were placed on furlough last month.

Then, on Tuesday, Sunderland and Crewe Alexandra both announced they had taken the decision to furlough players.

Morecambe have yet to take that particular course of action but it cannot be ruled out just yet.

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Should that decision eventually be taken, Taylor admitted it would only be done so following due consultation with all relevant bodies.

He said: “We haven’t done the players yet because we need to know what the situation is and we’re waiting for some guidance from the footballing authorities.

“I know that’s different to a lot of clubs but we want to do it right and we have been in touch with most of our lads today.

“They are all in good spirits and they are all keeping themselves fit – but we can’t take unilateral action, we need it to be right across the board.”