Biffa execs take pay cut as workers enter Covid-19 furlough scheme

Executives at waste management company Biffa on Monday volunteered to take a 20% paycut as staff started to go on furlough in response to the Covid-19 crisis.

The group on Monday said it had started the furlough process under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), which guarantees 80% of salary paid for by the government for at least three months.

The boardroom cut would last as long as Biffa remained in the CJRS, the company said in a statement. Its leadership group of 85 people have also taken a 10% reduction in salary and all pay increases have been suspended until further notice.

Cash bonuses were likely to be paid out in shares through the group's employee share plans and the 2021 bonus scheme was suspended, to be reintroduced “at the discretion of the remuneration committee when appropriate”, Biffa said.