Brighton & Hove Albion have committed to pay staff who are unable to work due to the coronavirus, including more than six hundred regular casual staff who work for the club on matchdays.
In a show of loyalty to the club’s workforce, chief executive and deputy chairman Paul Barber agreed the measure with the club’s board of directors during an emergency conference call this afternoon, set up following the Premier League meeting earlier today when it was decided to postpone fixtures until 4th April.
Barber explained, “We have more than six hundred matchday staff, who regularly work for us at the stadium on matchdays like tomorrow would have been.
“We have had to cancel their work at really short notice, and we know that their work and pay is really important.
“We have taken the decision as a club to continue paying the vast majority of our matchday staff for the remainder of the season, whether or not we play the five remaining Premier League games.
“We feel that is really important, whether we play the games in a full stadium, behind closed doors or at all. We want those staff to know they’ve got their pay coming to them.
“That is a small thing we can do. The vast majority of people we employ are local people so it is important we support them, and through them our local economy, at a difficult time and hopefully give them some reassurance, regardless of what else happens, that they still have that income from us to come.”
Albion are also telling full-time staff to work from home where possible from Monday, and to minimise risk in whatever ways possible.
Those coming into work are following strict protocols and measures in place for the past two weeks in order to minimise risk and protect players as much as possible.
Barber also confirmed all the club’s players and coaching staff across all teams are currently fit and well.
He added, “We have sent home staff who don’t need to be here in the office, both at the stadium and training ground.
“If people do report sick, show symptoms of the virus, come into contact with the virus or think they have the virus, then we have plans in place to self-isolate.
“There is a contingency plan in place. We have been fortunate that there have been no cases amongst our players or first-team staff. We do have five members of staff self-isolating which is a precautionary measure for a range of different reasons – either due to travel reasons or contact with potential cases – but none are showing symptoms of the virus at this stage.”
Albion are expected to close the stadium store, ticket office and Dick’s Bar from Saturday 14th March, but the club’s supporter services phone line and email service and online retail platform will remain open.