We won’t take Rishi millions

John Lewis say they’ll follow Primark and reject grant to get staff back

JOHN Lewis is this week expected to follow Primark in rejecting a Government grant of up to £14million to bring furloughed staff back to work – so it can go to the hardest-hit companies.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak last week announced firms could claim £1,000 for every furloughed employee they bring back and employ until January.

The scheme, which will cost taxpayers up to £9billion, was criticised as it is open to all firms, including those that bounce back after lockdown or have wealthy owners.

Many companies eligible for the subsidies would have brought the workers back from furlough anyway, according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies.

Last night insiders at John Lewis said bosses were preparing to finalise decisions to reject the payments.

Primark, which burned through £800million of cash during lockdown, has said it will hand back the £30million it could claim under the scheme, while bookmaker William Hill will reject £7million.

The move by three of Britain’s best-known companies will pile pressure on other leading firms that have used the Coronavirus Wage Retention Scheme to pay staff wages during lockdown.

McDonald’s, which is run mostly by franchisees in the UK, stands to make over £100million. Last night it said it was reviewing the Chancellor’s announcement.

JD Wetherspoon, which placed 43,000 staff on furlough when its 875 pubs closed, refused to comment on whether it would accept the £43million it is eligible for, despite also benefiting from a reduction in VAT for hospitality firms to five per cent.

High street baker Greggs, which made record profits last year, said it was reviewing whether to take up to £24million.

FTSE100 retailer Next, which furloughed 34,000 of its 40,000 workers, has yet to decide whether it will claim £34million.

Pub chain Greene King stands to gain £36million, Marks & Spencer would be in line for £27million and Whitbread, which owns Premier Inn hotels, could be given up to £27million. None of these companies have confirmed whether they will take the money.

It is also unknown whether Topshop

owner Arcadia, which could claim £14.5million, and Sports Direct owner Frasers Group, eligible for up to £18million, will accept the grants – with both part-owned by billionaires.

Mr Sunak used his mini-Budget last week to announce a raft of measures to prop up the economy as it struggles to recover.

Every business that brings back one of the 9million employees who have been furloughed on a decent wage and keeps them on the books until January will get £1,000 – even if the staff were already back before the policy was introduced.

VAT is being slashed from 20 per cent to 5 per cent for the hospitality industry until January, and stamp duty is axed on all homes worth up to £500,000 until March.

There is a £2billion ‘kickstarter’ scheme to pay wages for young people, and the Government is subsidising 50 per cent of people’s meals out at restaurants from Monday to Wednesday during August, to a maximum of £10 per head.

A spokesman for Primark parent group AB Foods said: ‘The company believes it should not be necessary to apply for payment under the bonus scheme on current circumstances.’

Trade Union Congress head Frances O’Grady praised Primark and suggested other employers who could afford it should consider its example.

She said: ‘I think what we are worried about is that there is a risk of getting into gimmicks rather

‘Biggest threat is mass unemployment’

than giving the targeted support that industries need.

‘It is a lot easier to hold on to good jobs that we have already, rather than to try and create them later down the line.

‘The biggest threat we face now is mass unemployment.’

In interviews after his miniBudget last week, Mr Sunak admitted there would be some ‘dead weight’ of wasted public spending from the bonus scheme for businesses who bring back furloughed workers.

He also refused to rule out tax rises in future to pay for the enormous bailouts.

This week the UK will find out how hard the economy was hit in May when official GDP figures are released. In April GDP contracted by a fifth, making it the worst month on record.

IN a splendidly patriotic gesture, John Lewis yesterday joined Primark and William Hill in saying they will not accept multi-million-pound Treasury bonuses for bringing furloughed staff back to work.

The firms are hugely grateful for taxpayer support during lockdown, but now they’re trading again, they feel it would be wrong to take more. The Daily Mail urges all firms to consider whether they truly need or deserve yet more public funding.

If not, they should follow this admirable example and decline.