Victoria Beckham will no longer furlough staff, a spokesperson for the designer has confirmed. The former Spice Girl had previously decided to place 30 members of her fashion label's staff on the government furlough scheme, which means that they would receive 80% of their pay with taxpayers' money. However, the luxury fashion label is now hoping to navigate the situation "without using Government assistance". Victoria has also put her own salary on hold as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
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The full statement read: "Victoria Beckham Ltd has been working hard to protect its people and, while adjusting to the impact of Covid-19 and the Government lockdown, our decision to furlough a small number of our staff seemed the most appropriate option in keeping with many other businesses.
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© Photo: InstagramVictoria and her family
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"The situation is dynamic and, with the support of our shareholders, we now believe we can navigate through this crisis without drawing from the Government furlough scheme.
"Our application was made in the best interests of trying to protect our staff, and that is still our absolute focus. We are doing everything we can to ensure we can achieve that without using Government assistance."
The mum-of-four has faced scrutiny recently over her business during the coronavirus pandemic, even sparking a fierce debate on Good Morning Britain. The show's hosts, Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid, discussed the designer's decision to furlough 30 members of staff from her fashion business.
Piers said: "Talking about altruism and generosity, how nice it was to read over the weekend that Victoria Beckham has decided to furlough 30 of the staff of her failing fashion business - the one that makes no money that loses money year after year. The one that's been bailed out until now by her fabulously rich husband, David Beckham… This furlough scheme was not for primadonna, multimillionaires like you two, running a failed vanity business that makes no money."
Susanna was quick to defend Victoria, however, pointing out that the fund isn't only designed for small, essential, or profitable businesses, and that the 45-year-old will be covering the difference in her staff's wages. "I feel comfortable about the fact that the furlough scheme is about saving jobs," she said.
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