Victoria Beckham has furloughed 30 employees at her struggling fashion label – despite having a staggering household fortune of £335 million.
The former Spice Girl, whose purse assortment alone is regarded as value £1.5 million, is to assert what might quantity to tens of hundreds of kilos of taxpayers’ cash to pay a quarter of her staff underneath the Government’s job retention scheme. Staff from throughout her fashion label – which expenses £1,500 for a costume – have acquired letters explaining that they’d be paid 80 per cent of their salaries by the Government, consistent with Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s scheme to assist corporations in the course of the pandemic.
Mrs Beckham is known to be topping up their wages in an ‘enhanced package’ by paying the remaining 20 per cent – although she is just not obliged to take action.
Employees within the advertising and marketing division and buyer providers have been affected, in addition to employees at her Mayfair store which closed after Britain went into lockdown.
Victoria Beckham has furloughed 30 employees at her struggling fashion label – despite having a staggering household fortune of £335 million. Pictured with husband David and daughter Harper
A spokesman for Mrs Beckham confirmed final night time that employees will probably be furloughed for 2 months ‘so far’.
The approach the scheme works implies that the workers will stay employed and Mrs Beckham will have the ability to declare again 80 per cent of their wages from the Government, as much as £2,500 a month for every furloughed worker. The scheme might assist cowl the wage invoice for the 30 employees till the tip of June.
Two weeks in the past, Mrs Beckham and her ex-footballer husband David splashed out £17 million on a penthouse in Miami so as to add to their spectacular property portfolio, which incorporates a £25 million mansion in Holland Park, West London, and a £6 million barn conversion within the Cotswolds, the place the household has been dwelling in the course of the lockdown.
Mrs Beckham is known to be topping up their wages in an ‘enhanced package’ by paying the remaining 20 per cent – although she is just not obliged to take action. Victoria Beckham’s retailer, Hong Kong
Mrs Beckham has been flooding social media with photos of her household as they keep at residence. One snap confirmed her making a lemon drizzle cake and rigatoni pasta.
Mrs Beckham, who turned 46 on Friday, additionally posted a image of herself clapping for carers for her 26 million Instagram followers to see. A supply near the household informed The Mail on Sunday: ‘One minute she and David are posting pictures of very expensive bottles of red wine on Instagram, the next she’s utilizing the furlough scheme, funded by taxpayers.
‘She has also been seen clapping the brave NHS workers, but by using the Government scheme she is taking public money when she has hundreds of millions in the bank. It seems very ill-advised.’
The Beckhams reportedly spent £100,000 on a 21st birthday bash for his or her eldest youngster, Brooklyn (pictured)
Mrs Beckham’s eponymous firm, primarily based in Hammersmith, West London, has not made a revenue because it launched in 2008.
In 2018, it suffered losses of £12.3 million. The yr earlier than that, Mrs Beckham misplaced £10.3 million, however the enterprise was propped up by her 44-year-previous husband. Despite the clearly unprofitable enterprise mannequin, Mrs Beckham is decided to maintain the label going. And the enterprise’s poor efficiency hasn’t stopped her and David from dwelling an ostentatious way of life, with a lot of it exhibited to their followers through social media.
Victoria took to Instagram to share a image of herself having fun with isolation actions with the caption: ‘Family bike trip on my birthday’
In January they had been seen swigging a £2,000 bottle of Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru crimson wine whereas eating at the unique Chez L’Ami Louis restaurant in Paris. Mrs Beckham has a assortment of Birkin purses, that are understood to vary from £10,000 to £80,000, and repeatedly makes use of non-public jets. Last month, simply two weeks earlier than lockdown, the Beckhams reportedly spent £100,000 on a 21st birthday bash for his or her eldest youngster, Brooklyn. Rapper Stormzy carried out at the lavish affair, which was understood to have been held in a marquee within the backyard of their Oxfordshire residence, near superstar hang-out, Soho Farmhouse.
A spokesman for Mrs Beckham mentioned final night time: ‘We are working onerous to make sure our a lot-valued Victoria Beckham group are protected throughout this unsettled time by conserving our enterprise wholesome.
‘Having carefully assessed all our options, we made the decision to furlough a proportion of staff on an enhanced package.’
Tory MP Robert Halfon mentioned final night time: ‘At a time when millions are struggling, it would be good if multi-millionaires helped the country rather than seeking to profit from hard-pressed taxpayers.’
Fellow Tory MP Tom Hunt added: ‘It is extremely regrettable that a prominent figure in the fashion world has taken this step, given the many selfless acts we are seeing across the country every single day.’
