Man Utd are giving all staff a one-week deadline to decide whether they want to keep their jobs

Manchester United have given non-football staff just a week to decide whether they still want to work for the club following Sir Jim Ratcliffe's blanket ban on working from home.

Ratcliffe agreed to buy a minority stake from the Glazer family in December following a lengthy takeover process, with the goal of controlling football operations. But the British billionaire's reach appears to be much deeper, as he has insisted on big changes that are subtle to the players, coaching and technical staff but have a huge impact on everyone.

Ratcliffe, who dislikes the work-from-home culture that resulted in a 20% drop in email when employees at one of his companies stayed out of the office on Fridays, is familiar with brutal business decisions and made it clear. a call to all workers that workers can seek “another job” if they do not agree with the new order at United.

When it went into effect on June 1, an email was sent to everyone on Tuesday offering a “voluntary resignation”, with a deadline of June 5 to get in line or leave.

United employs more than 1,000 people and about 20% have been asked to leave.

Other workers told Athletic “it looked more like a voluntary redundancy scheme”. Part of the incentive could be a cost-cutting exercise, with the new management looking for ways to invest more in the playing squad after the club made a £42m loss in the 2022/23 season, despite recording what was then a record. Premier League team money.

Those who take up the offer to leave now will still be entitled to receive their annual bonus early which would have been paid in September. But notice periods have yet to be completed, from the office – the club has premises in Carrington, Old Trafford and London.

“While many have embraced our new approach, we know that many partners choose not to commit to this new way of working and are keen to understand their options,” explained the company-wide email. “As we think about this response and that we respect the right of each partner to choose the way they will work, we will allow those who wish to resign now to claim their bonus early this season if they cannot work in our offices from June 1. “

There seems to be a 'speak now or forever silent' element to everything as the new regime begins to gain momentum.

Staff have previously been described as “surprised” by Ratcliffe's insistence that everyone work full-time, suggesting it is “short-sighted” and will be difficult to operate if there is not currently enough space for all staff to fit into the various offices. simultaneously.

Ratcliffe has been keen to drive standards since taking office, calling out disorganization in recent site visits, drawing direct comparisons to the way things are run at INEOS and threats that employee events such as Christmas parties could be cancelled.

Despite the well-directed intentions behind the development of the platform, the morale seems to be taking on more speed than that.

I Daily Mail reported that the post-FA Cup final party for non-football staff, similar to those held in previous years, was not held as part of cost-cutting. They were still offered a free ticket to Wembley but had to pay £20 on coach travel for the previous change and were also not given food. Frustrations mounted when loudmouthed YouTuber ShowSpeed​​​​ gained access to the players' post-match celebrations at a Mayfair hotel as Alejandro Garnacho's guest. The American international was involved in an altercation with United fans during the match when he filmed himself and his anger over the high-profile reactions to the events on the pitch.

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