Leicester City have announced that they will not be using the government's coronavirus furlough scheme for the club's non-playing staff.
Premier League clubs Newcastle, Tottenham, Bournemouth and Norwich have all said they will utilise the program, which covers 80 per cent of an employee's wage, with the clubs covering the remaining 20%.
Other clubs, such as Manchester United and Manchester City have announced that they will not be using the program, which draws from public funds. Liverpool initially announced that they would use the furlough scheme only to reverse course earlier this week amid a growing public backlash.
The Foxes have now added their name to the list of clubs not using the scheme, saying the decision was reached after talks with chief executive Susan Whelan, manager Brendan Rodgers, director of football Jon Rudkin and members of first team leadership.
"The club intends to retain all permanent staff and does not intend to utilise the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. All casual matchday and non-matchday staff will be paid to the end of the 2019/20 season, as the games were previously scheduled," a statement from the club said.
Next Match
"As soon as conversations started, it was clear we all wanted the same thing – to make sure all the staff at the club were looked after, to do our bit for the people of the city and to make sure the club’s in the best position possible when football is ready to return," said club captain Wes Morgan.
When the Premier League will be able to return is still an open question, with the league announcing last week that its suspension would continue indefinitely.
There have been suggestions that the league may not return at all this season, with Udinese sporting director Pierpaolo Marino, whose club are owned by the same family that owns Watford, saying that an announcement of the Premier League's cancellation was forthcoming.
Prior to the suspension of play Leicester were enjoying a fine campaign, sitting in third place in the league standings.
“We’ve been through so much together and come through every challenge stronger as a group. This will be no different," said Foxes goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. "We’re here to support each other through the immediacy of this and, when the dust settles and the world is ready for football to return, we’ll be there, picking up where we left off, driving the club forward."