World Archery puts all its 13 staff on 'temporary partial unemployment'

Hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, World Archery has placed all of its 13 staff at the Lausanne headquarters on a 'temporary partial unemployment' scheme through which the Swiss government will pay the bulk of their wages. Following the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, World Archery executive board has suspended all its events till August 31, resulting in huge losses to the federation. By availing the 'unemployment benefits' under the Payroll Services of Switzerland, the Swiss employers get paid by their respective organizations for the work done, while the government funds rest of the salary.

 'Temporary partial unemployment'

Confirming the development, a WA spokesperson told PTI that apart from Olympic revenues they were badly affected by broadcast and sponsor contracts etc.

"We have placed staff on partial unemployment according to adjusted workload.

We're okay until the end of 2020 and are exploring all avenues for funding until we expect to receive the delayed Olympic revenues in 2021," the WA spokesperson said.

"You work less (depending on role and workload). Employer only pays for work done, government funds rest of salary. It's pretty normal here in Switzerland. Many, many companies have done it."

"We are focused on pivoting our output to provide value to community, athletes and partners in this period. Until we get resume normality," the spokesperson added.

"We have finance to cover us for the rest of 2020... We are exploring all options for 2021," he added. A third tier of Olympic sports, the archery body was anticipating the bulk of its USD 18.60 million shares of the revenue from the Olympics in September. A possibility advance payout on the Tokyo 2020 is being mooted by the IOC, who are in talks with several Federations regarding their financial situations.

Image credits: AFP