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Thousands of casual workers at some of English football’s biggest stadiums have been left unpaid during the Covid-19 shutdown, the Guardian understands.

A number of employees from Delaware North – which provides catering and hospitality services at venues such as the Emirates Stadium, London Stadium, Wembley, Craven Cottage and the Ricoh Arena – have contacted the Guardian after seeing booked shifts cancelled and receiving no payments since the Premier League season halted last month.

Some of the workers, who are on zero-hour or casual arrangements, feel increasingly desperate. The casual workers complain the company has told them there are no shifts for them because of the impact of Covid-19 and that it is trying to establish whether they are eligible to be furloughed under the government’s coronavirus job retention scheme.

A long-standing casual employee at one of the venues told the Guardian that they work there for up to five days a week but saw that income stream removed as soon as the season was paused. They said they had received no payment for the shifts they had committed to.

