Victoria Beckham reverses decision to furlough staff following backlash

Victoria Beckham has reversed her decision to furlough 30 employees of her eponymous label after receiving heavy criticism for not paying them from her own personal fortune.

In April, it was revealed that 30 of Beckham’s 120 staff were informed they would be furloughed for a minimum of two months. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, announced in March, sees the government pay up to 80 percent of the salaries of furloughed employees, up to 2,500 pounds a month.

Beckham, who has an estimated net worth of 335 million pounds, came under fire for relying on the taxpayer to pay the wages of her furloughed staff rather than her own pocket. The claim would have cost around 150,000 pounds in government funds.

“We will not now be drawing on the government furlough scheme,” Beckham told the Guardian. “At the beginning of the lockdown the shareholders agreed with senior management to furlough a small proportion of staff. At that point we didn’t know how long the lockdown might last or its likely impact on the business. The welfare of my team and our business means everything to me.”

Photo courtesy of Victoria Beckham