Wigan Athletic players and staff had to wait three days before their June wages arrived - the second time in as many months a delay has occurred.
Mal Brannigan, chief executive at the newly-promoted Championship club, apologised to employees affected which saw their wages land today (Monday, July 4) rather than last Friday (July 1).
He says the issue was due to a technical problem processing the payments from the club’s parent company, before hitting the club’s account. A similar issue happened the previous month although it is claimed that particular problem was centred around the Jubilee weekend which saw an extra bank holiday added to the calendar.
“We are really sorry that the staff did not receive their salaries as scheduled on Friday," Brannigan told the Wigan Post.
“Due to an issue beyond our control, I informed staff on Friday that their pay would not hit their accounts until Monday, despite a full day of trying to resolve the issue. I am really mindful of this club’s recent past, so we felt it was important we addressed the issue publicly to avoid unnecessary speculation and alarm.
"The payments processes have been changed, so this will not occur again. The club has offered to assist any staff who have suffered immediate hardship as a result of the delay. The financial health of the club is strong and stable.”
The Latics sealed the League One title last season to continue their recent trend of yo-yoing through the divisions. That was the seventh promotion or relegation inside the last decade for the club. It capped a superb turnaround from the previous campaign when they narrowly avoided relegation into League Two on only the final day.
It has been a quiet summer on the transfer front for the club though, with no new signings having arrived and only Gavin Massey having left last year's squad. Speaking about the club's transfer policy last month, Brannigan said: "We always try to look at ourselves first and foremost, and we have had plenty of conversations throughout the summer – and even going back to the end of last season – about players.
“It’s talking to other clubs, talking to agents, talking to sporting directors, who are also talking to other clubs. But overall it has been very quiet for the vast majority of clubs. What you need to do is progress through windows and bring stability to your football club, rather than constant turnover of staff and turnover of players. What we also have here is an amazing set of players who achieved exactly what we asked of them last year.
“There’s also that little bit that says: ‘Well done, you deserve to be a Championship footballer now, let’s see how that develops out there’."
Wigan begin life back in the Championship at home to Preston on July 30.
