Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has decided that the club will not be placing any of their staff on statutory sick pay for health issues relating to COVID-19 during the crisis, and that matchday casual staff will not disadvantaged financially where games are cancelled or played behind closed doors.
Premier League action is on hold till April 4, and the Selhurst Park outfit have closed their training ground, urging some of their staff to work from home.
Palace stars are also training at home after the UK government urged people to work from home due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
It remains to be seen if returning to action on April 4 is feasible, but Palace appear ready to ensure none of their staff suffer, especially those that only work on matchdays.
Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker and Arsenal legend Ian Wright approve of the decision of the Eagles’ chairman, reacting thus to it on Twitter:
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾♥️ @CEO4TAG https://t.co/wMIFaYK3Bh
— Ian Wright (@IanWright0) March 18, 2020
Well played 👏🏻 https://t.co/5Qs03QkFty
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) March 18, 2020
While the suspension of the English football leagues has seen National League club Barnet place all non-playing staff on notice in emergency measures to preserve the club amid the coronavirus pandemic, clubs in the bigger leagues aren’t expected to follow suit.
However, matchday workers risk missing out on their incomes the longer the suspension goes, and it will be interesting to see how Palace react going forward.
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