Internal Worcester memo: The payroll situation and the bank delay

The co-owners of Worcester have told players and staff that the banking issue that resulted in the delay to the payment of their August 31 wages being paid has now been resolved. A number of squad members have issued the club with breach of contract notices after the money due into their accounts on Wednesday failed to materialise as promised.

Highly rated back row Kyle Hatherell is among those wanting to leave and it is understood that Leicester and Saracens are now competing with La Rochelle for the South African-born 27-year-old.

The extent of the problems caused by debts that are thought to exceed £25million was revealed during a coordinated social media campaign on Friday in which 20-year-old scrum-half Ollie Wynn revealed he had been made homeless and was now staying with England midfielder Ollie Lawrence.

But in an internal memo issued to Worcester staff by co-owners Jason Whittingham and Colin Goldring, who are in advanced talks with two potential buyers, it was stated that salaries were now being paid.

“This situation must be stressful for you all. We are sorry we are in this boat and we have done everything we can do to avoid it. All we can do now is deal with what is in front of us,” the memo read.

“Regarding the payroll situation, the bank has finally confirmed the issue has been resolved and we can process the rest of the player and staff salary payments, some having already gone through. There are over 150 payments and each one takes around ten minutes. The bank are having to constantly watch and approve each one to prevent the blocking IT issue that keeps recurring.

“Those payments have already started going through but we can’t guarantee every payment will clear in your account tonight [Friday], but they are finally going out our side. Again we are sorry for the delays in getting this payment to you.

“We know how much strain this puts on you all and we haven’t stopped trying to resolve it. No doubt your focus will be on the immediate payroll situation, but I’d also like to say things are progressing well behind the scenes with one investor group in particular.”