Former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann has slammed the Reds’ decision to place some staff on furlough, claiming that the club a taking ‘advantage’ of the government’s job retention scheme.
Liverpool announced in an official statement yesterday that they have placed some of their staff impacted by the Premier League’s suspension due to the Coronavirus on furlough.
As per BBC Sport, ‘furlough’ is the job retention scheme which sees the government cover 80% of the wages of employees (up to £2,500 a month) whose work has been impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Merseyside outfit did confirm that affected employees would be paid 100% of their salaries, meaning that the club are picking up the 20% that the scheme doesn’t cover.
Hamann added that he was ‘astonished’ by the decision and that this isn’t ‘what the scheme was designed for’.
The Germany international finished his tweet by adding that these actions are ‘contrary to the morals and values of the club’.
Astonished by the news that @lfc takes advantage of the furlough scheme to claim 80 % of non playing staffs wages back of the government. That’s not what the scheme was designed for. Contrary to the morals and values of the club i got to know
— Didi Hamann (@DietmarHamann) April 4, 2020
We have to commend Hamann for calling out the club’s decision which has sparked massive controversy.
Whilst the focus will be on Liverpool as they are the biggest club to take this measure, Tottenham, Newcastle, Bournemouth and Norwich have also placed some or all of their non-playing staff on furlough.
Considering Liverpool’s massive standing in the game, they have ultimately faced the harshest criticism for their choice, is it fair for top-flight clubs to make use of the government scheme?
Hamann’s taking ‘advantage’ assessment may be slightly cynical, but he raises a valid point, should this scheme only be used by businesses – perhaps those who may serve a more essential purpose to our everyday lives?