Scottish Rugby furloughs hundreds of staff and asks players to take wage cut

Scottish Rugby have asked every player earning more than £50,000 to take a pay cut between 10-25% in response to the ‘increasing unpredicability’ rugby faces.

Chief executive Mark Dodson announce he will be taking a 30 per cent reduction to his salary, as the decision-makers at Scottish Rugby anticipate disruption to their summer tour plans.

Scotland are not alone in fearing their summer tours of South Africa and New Zealand could be axed due to strict travel restrictions.

In an attempt to buffer its finances, Scottish Rugby are planning to furlough around 75 per cent of its 450 staff.

It has stressed that no employee earning less than £50,000 will be affected financially. Opting instead to save costs by reducing the wages of top earners.

With executive directors taking a 25 per cent cut, the 157 players employed by Scottish Rugby will be subject to:

• Those earning up to £75,000 would lose 10%;
• Those earning £75,000-£100,000 would lose 15%;
• Those earning £100,000-£200,000 would lose 20%;
• Those earning above would lose 25%.

A statement released by the union read: “Our income streams are being badly affected as match day receipts and other revenues and activity that might otherwise be taking place at Murrayfield are interrupted.

“Like many we hope the professional game season can be completed, but have no guarantee that even a truncated end to any of the competitions will happen.

“As it now stands it would appear very unlikely the annual Summer Tours to the Southern Hemisphere will take place. This has a further impact on our income.

“There is also developing uncertainty on when Scottish Rugby might be able to put Autumn Test tickets on sale, and indeed if these games will go ahead as originally planned. We are due to play Argentina, Japan and New Zealand in November.

“No one knows with any certainty when any rugby can resume. We have seen many, many examples of our staff, clubs and players across the country supporting their local communities and demonstrating rugby’s values in daily life.

“Rugby makes a positive contribution to society and it is this positivity and our whole sport working collectively that will give us the best opportunity to come through this crisis, safely, together.”

Reality appears to have set in for Dodson, who announced last month that a number of personnel would be deferring a percentage of their wages to later in the year.

But that has been changed in light of the £12m of income at risk if the autumn internationals are cancelled.