Southampton become first Premier League club to agree to wage deferrals as players, manager and coaching staff agree to forgo part of their salaries for three months
- Southampton are the first Premier League club to agree a wage deferral plan
- Players will give up parts of their salaries for April, May and June to help out
- Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, his coaching staff and the club’s board will do as well
- It means the club will not have to use the government’s Job Retention Scheme
Southampton have become the first Premier League club to announce they have reached a wage deferral agreement with their players following the coronavirus outbreak.
Southampton’s stars will each give up a percentage of their salaries for April, May and June to help protect the jobs of staff across the club.
Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, his coaching staff and the south coast club’s board will do likewise.
Southampton have become the first Premier League club to confirm a wage deferral deal
Southampton’s players will give up parts of their salaries for April, May and June to help out
The sacrifice made by the highest paid members of Southampton’s staff ensures the club have not had to make use of the Government Job Retention Scheme for the next few months and furlough any non-playing employees.
They will continue to be paid their full salaries until June 30 when the situation will be reviewed again.
Since the Premier League failed to convince players to agree to back their league-wide wage reduction proposal, top-flight stars decided to resolve the situation on a club-by-club.
The differences in pay across the league made it difficult for the league to convince players that a uniform agreement would be fair.
Southampton have now become the first to strike their own individual agreement with other clubs now expected to follow suit.
Boss Ralph Hasenhuttl, his coaching staff and the south coast club’s board will do the same
The sacrifice means the club have not had to use the government’s Job Retention Scheme
As revealed by Sportsmail on Tuesday, Southampton were locked in talks in a bid to avoid following a number of other clubs by furloughing members of staff.
Tottenham, Newcastle, Bournemouth and Norwich have taken up the option to furlough members of their staff.
Premier League club’s using the scheme has led to widespread criticism due to the belief that such wealthy businesses should not be among those taking advantage of the initiative.
Like clubs across the country Southampton considered all of their options, especially with many of their employees unable to continue their jobs due to football’s shutdown.
But following further discussions behind the scenes in the last 48 hours owner Jisheng Gao and Katharina Liebherr have come up with a number of measures which have helped ensure their non-playing staff will not be disadvantaged for the foreseeable future.