Furloughed staff ‘don’t want to go back to work’

Some staff who have been on furlough do not want to return to work because they feel the time off has been ‘great’ for them, former business secretary Dame Andrea Leadsom has said.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions, the Conservative MP said that some people on furlough might have thought about early retirement or going part time because they had enjoyed the time off during the pandemic, while others were “terrified” of returning to work.

She said that some organisations in her South Northamptonshire constituency “simply can’t get people to come back to work” because they had become used to being on furlough.

This will have “very real issues for our economy”, she said.

Dame Andrea said: “For some people they’re just terrified, so it’s like, ‘I’ve been on furlough for so long I really can’t quite face going back to the office’ and employers are rightly saying, ‘well, you need to’… So there’s that issue, the mental health issue, the fear of it.

“For other people, it’s like, ‘well actually being on furlough in lockdown has been great for me – I’ve got a garden, I’ve been able to go out walking every day, I’ve got great vegetables growing, I don’t really want to go back to work, maybe I’ll think about part-time or I’m going to retire early’.”

According to the latest official figures, some 3.4 million people were on furlough as of 30 April. A total of 11.5 million jobs have been supported by the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, at a cost of £64bn.

Currently employers can claim 80% of furloughed employees’ wages from the government, but the level of support will reduce as the scheme winds down.

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From 1 July to 31 July employers must contribute 10% of workers’ pay, with the government paying 70%; and from 1 August to 30 September – when the scheme is expected to end – employers must contribute 20% of workers’ wages, with the government paying 60%.

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