Basketball England furlough staff and set immediate priorities

Basketball England has taken the decision to furlough some staff through the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. 

Eleven employees have been placed on an initial three-week period of absence from today (Thursday 8 April) following the adoption of a Business Continuity Plan. 

The plan aims to safeguard the sport and national governing body during this uncertain time, help the organisation respond positively to the challenges faced by the basketball community and be ready for a new season later this year.  

Basketball England have made three major decisions in the first three weeks of the Covid-19 lockdown to protect the sport and members. They are: 

• To finalise the 2019/20 season and help fight the spread of coronavirus through the cancellation of all leagues, competitions and programmes and recognise the efforts of the basketball community by issuing final league standings and end-of-season awards. 

• To make prudent decisions on overheads and the deployment of staff to manage the disruption effectively, including use of the furlough scheme. 

• To promote and assist clubs’ access to support, including Sport England’s Community Emergency Fund, providing guidance to the grant application process, as well as offering online support and engagement in conjunction with players, coaches and conditioning specialists. 

Basketball England CEO Stewart Kellett said: “We have taken the difficult but prudent decision to furlough some staff to protect the financial stability of the organisation during this uncertain period and safeguard our capacity to serve the game in the long run.  

“We thank the staff involved for their cooperation and understanding and will be supporting them during this time.  

“Staff who remain on duty will be working hard on a number of immediate priorities, which include engaging with clubs and local leagues to support them during this challenging time, planning for the new season, and making improvements to membership renewals and sign-ups.“ 

BE will review its furlough position before the conclusion of the initial three-week period.  

If you need to contact Basketball England in the coming weeks, please use the following email addresses: 

• General information: [email protected] 
• Membership: [email protected] 
• Media: [email protected] 
• Courses: [email protected] 
• National League: [email protected] 
• Officiating: [email protected]
• Safeguarding: [email protected] 
• Talent: [email protected] 
• All Girls: [email protected] 
• Club enquiries: Laura Doherty (Relationship & Co-Ordination Manager) Yorkshire, East, East Midlands, South East & London [email protected] or Sam Lewis (Relationship & Co-Ordination Manager) West Midlands, South & South West, North West, North East [email protected]