Furloughing staff: Prudent common sense or morally bankrupt?

'We are commercial enterprises'

Hannah Godfrey
clock • 6 min read

It could be argued cash-comfortable adviser firms taking advantage of the government’s furlough scheme are merely considering the long-term future of the business and behaving prudently. However, others feel doing so ignores the needs of the taxpayer, and will ultimately damage the reputation of advisers. Here, a few advisers argue the merits and demerits of furloughing staff...

If a company can afford to continue paying staff without the government furlough scheme - known officially as the Job Retention Scheme - then doing so has become something of a contentious topic among the adviser community ever since the government offered to pay 80% of furloughed staff's wages, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month. The furlough scheme, which officially went live on 20 April and can be backdated to 1 March, was put in place by the government to ensure people did not lose their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking on Good Morning Britain on the day the scheme wen...

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