Victoria Beckham ‘has had the worst week and thinks it’s UNFAIR she’s getting backlash for furloughing 30 of her fashion workers’
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Victoria Beckham has reportedly claimed it’s ‘unfair’ she is receiving backlash after furloughing 30 of her fashion workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Spice Girls star, 46, is said to be having the ‘worst week’ following criticism for using the government bail-out scheme despite her family’s staggering fortune of £335 million.
On Monday, Piers Morgan called out Victoria, who celebrated her birthday over the weekend with a virtual party at her Cotswolds mansion, and called her a ‘pampered prima donna millionairess’.
‘Unfair’: Victoria Beckham has reportedly claimed it’s ‘unfair’ she is receiving backlash after furloughing 30 of her fashion workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic (pictured in February)
A source told The Sun: ‘Victoria’s telling friends that despite her birthday, it’s been the “worst week”.
‘She doesn’t think it’s fair she’s getting slammed for something a lot of companies and businesses are doing. She thinks it’s unfair and had no idea the backlash would be this bad.’
MailOnline has contacted Victoria’s representative for comment.
It comes after Piers said he was angry that the wife of millionaire footballer David Beckham, 44, was using the government bail-out scheme for her ‘failing vanity project’ fashion label.
‘Worst week’: The Spice Girls star, 46, is said to be having the ‘worst week’ following criticism for using the government bail-out scheme despite her family’s staggering fortune of £335 million (pictured with husband David and daughter Harper on her birthday on Friday)
Shocked: A source told The Sun : ‘Victoria’s telling friends that despite her birthday, it’s been the “worst week”. She doesn’t think it’s fair she’s getting slammed for something a lot of companies and businesses are doing.’ (pictured with David for the One World broadcast)
Piers questioned why Victoria was able to receive taxpayer money to pay her staff furlough and responding to these claims, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said businesses should only use the tax-payer funded scheme ‘if they had to’.
Speaking on Monday’s Good Morning Britain, he said: ‘I think each person and each company should ask themselves: do they have to rely on the taxpayer?
‘Because this scheme is meant to be for, if you are about to make someone redundant and you haven’t got the money to continue to employ them, then you can rely on the Government to stop people being made redundant’.
He added that he wasn’t aware of the details Victoria’s business but said the clear principle was that ‘you should only be using it if you have to’.
Piers took aim at Victoria on the show after she appeared by video link with her husband David on the One World: Together At Home celebration, where she praised NHS workers.
Ouch! On Monday, Piers Morgan called out Victoria, who celebrated her birthday over the weekend with a virtual party at her Cotswolds mansion, and called her a ‘pampered prima donna millionairess’
He said: ‘How nice it was at the weekend, with all the selfless acts, to hear Victoria Beckham is furloughing 30 staff of her failing business.
‘Lost money year after year. Been bailed out by her famously rich husband David Beckham.’
Piers then asked when the next video of the Beckhams drinking expensive wine or boasting about their expensive home would be posted on Instagram.
He said: ‘Sorry, this furlough scheme was not for prima donna millionaires like you. Running a vanity project like her fashion business that makes no money.’
Co-host Susanna Reid, 49, explained that Victoria is reportedly forgoing her own salary and donating to food banks and asked what more she should do.
Mansion: Piers then asked when the next video of the Beckhams drinking expensive wine or boasting about their expensive home would be posted on Instagram
She also said that it was the government’s job to make guidelines clearer and Piers said it’s not their job to ‘give people a moral compass.’
Yet Susanna questioned why Piers was singling out the Beckham family, when there are no doubt lots of others businesses owners this could apply to.
Piers said: ‘You the taxpayer are now funding a loss making vanity project for David and Victoria Beckham. Do you feel good about that?’
Victoria was also slammed by people on social media after furloughing 30 staff at her struggling fashion label – despite her staggering family fortune.
The former Spice Girl, whose handbag collection alone is thought to be worth £1.5 million, is to claim what could amount to tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money to pay a quarter of her employees under the Government’s job retention scheme.
Staff from across her fashion label – which charges £1,500 for a dress – have received letters explaining that they would be paid 80 per cent of their salaries by the Government, in line with Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s scheme to help firms during the pandemic.
Questions: Susanna Reid, 49, explained that Victoria is reportedly forgoing her own salary and donating to food banks and asked what more she should do
Critics slammed Victoria for taking advantage of the taxpayer-funded scheme rather than using her own wealth to pay staff, having recently bought a penthouse in Miami for £20million with her husband.
The former Spice Girl is understood to be topping up their wages in an ‘enhanced package’ by paying the remaining 20 per cent – though she is not obliged to do so.
Employees in the marketing department and customer services have been affected, as well as staff at her Mayfair shop which closed after Britain went into lockdown.
The way the scheme works means that the workers will remain employed and Victoria will be able to claim back 80 per cent of their wages from the Government, up to £2,500 a month for each furloughed employee.
The scheme could help cover the wage bill for the 30 staff until the end of June.
Opinions: People on social media have slammed Victoria for taking advantage of a tax-funded scheme rather than use her own wealth to pay staff
A source close to the family told 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 using 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.’
Victoria’s eponymous company, based in Hammersmith, West London, has not made a profit since it launched in 2008.
Business: Victoria’s eponymous company, based in Hammersmith, West London, has not made a profit since it launched in 2008 (her shop opening in Hong Kong in 2016)
In 2018, it suffered losses of £12.3 million. The year before that, she lost £10.3 million, but the business was propped up by her 44-year-old husband.
A spokesman for Victoria confirmed over the weekend that staff will be furloughed for two months ‘so far’.
They said: ‘We are working hard to ensure our much-valued Victoria Beckham team are protected during this unsettled time by keeping our business healthy.
‘Having carefully assessed all our options, we made the decision to furlough a proportion of staff on an enhanced package.’
Confirmation: A spokesman for Victoria confirmed over the weekend that staff will be furloughed for two months ‘so far’
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