MEGA-rich Victoria Beckham has furloughed dozens of staff at her fashion label – leaving tax payers to foot the bill.
The former Spice Girl is to claim thousands to help pay the wages of 30 workers under the Government’s new job retention scheme.
The Mail on Sunday reveals Posh – who has a family fortune of £335m – is to pay a quarter of her workforce under the initiative introduced in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Workers have reportedly received letters explaining 80 per cent of their salary will now be paid by the Government.
However, it is believed Victoria will be paying the remaining 20 per cent herself so workers are not left out of pocket.
The scheme was introduced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak to help firms being hit hard during the outbreak.
It’s reported those working in marketing and customer services are affected along with staff from Victoria’s flagship Mayfair store.
The shop – which sells dresses costing £1,500 – was closed when Britain went into lockdown.
A spokesman for Victoria told the Mail on Sunday: “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.”
Those employees claiming under the government scheme receive 80 per cent of their wages up to £2,500.
It’s reported Victoria’s fashion brand has not made a profit since it was launched in 2008 and in 2018 it suffered a £12.3m loss.
However, the figures are a relative drop in the ocean to Victoria and football legend David who have made hundreds of millions of pounds over the years.
Recently the couple bought a £17m Miami pad to go alongside their £25m London mansion and £6m Cotswolds barn conversion.
A source close to the family reportedly said: “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.”
It’s believed the source was referring to the fact the couple were recently seen drinking a £2,000 bottle of Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru red wine while dining out in Paris.
Tory MP Tom Hunt said: ‘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.’
Yesterday we reported how Victoria posted a picture proving the family did not move from their Cotswolds home back to their London mansion during the lockdown – despite speculation from fans.
The designer, who turned 46 this week, was seen on her bike enjoying a rural ride as part of her big day, pouring cold water on claims the family had returned to the capital.
The Beckhams faced criticism for deciding to spend lockdown at their Cotswolds retreat, with locals slamming the couple for “selfie-isolating”.
David and Victoria took their youngest children Harper, 8, Romeo, 17, and Cruz, 15, to the country before lockdown was imposed and have been baking cakes, building Lego, and exercising – while posting the fun on Instagram.
The former pop icon and daughter Harper have also continued to show their support for NHS workers by FaceTiming nurses at King’s Hospital in London.
Victoria posted a screenshot of the video call to her Instagram Stories.
In the snap, Harper, eight, sweetly smiles as she chats with the NHS workers.
Alongside the photo of their chat, Vic wrote: “Face Time with the nurses at King’s hospital in London today x.”
The act of kindness is yet another way the famous family have thrown their support behind hospital workers amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier this week, Victoria filmed husband David, 44, and their three youngest children as they backed the emotional #ClapForCarers campaign.
Showing their support in a video posted to Instagram, the former Spice Girl singer said: “We are all clapping to show our thanks to all the people who are working so hard for the NHS.
“All the doctors, all the nurses keeping us safe and working so, so hard.”
David then added: “They’re away from their families, we are so proud of you guys, thank you so much.”
