Estate agent Foxtons is asking employees earning over £40,000 a year to take a 20% pay cut, due to the financial constraints of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.
Approximately 80% of employees, who have not been furloughed and are over the salary threshold of £40,000, have agreed to the voluntary pay cut for April and May 2020.
Foxtons’ executive directors are also volunteering to take a 20% reduction on their base pay, while non-executive directors are taking a 20% pay reduction in fees for April and May 2020.
On 23 March 2020, Foxtons closed all of its branches and furloughed 750 of its 2,100 employees under the government’s Coronavirus job retention scheme.
Nic Budden, chief executive at Foxtons, said: “The London property market has been severely disrupted by the necessary measures the country has taken to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. Prior to the lock-down, Foxtons’ trading in 2020 had been in line with the board’s expectations and we started the year in a strong financial position, with a cash balance of over £15 million, no external borrowings, and a growing sales commission pipeline. We have since prioritised the safety of our people.
“This is an extremely challenging period for everyone but our people have been amazing in responding and I am confident we have taken the right measures both for our stakeholders and the business so that we can emerge from this crisis with the capability and financial position to thrive.“