Former business secretary Andrea Leadsom given damehood
(Picture: PA)It’s fair to say that there are many things which people are looking forward to as lockdown restrictions continue to be lifted – from dancing in a field packed with fellow music lovers at a festival, to club nights returning to their former glory.
Yet Tory politician Andrea Leadsom thinks that for some of those who have been furloughed – as part of a scheme which sees employees placed on leave from work while retaining 80 percent of their wage – they “don’t really want to go back to work” because lockdown has been “great for them”.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions, the South Northamptonshire MP said that “people have, to be perfectly frank, become used to being on furlough”.
“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 want to go back to work, maybe I’ll think about part-time or I’m going to retire early’,” she said.
While some have responded to Leadsom’s claims to say she is “absolutely right”, others have criticised the former business secretary’s remarks – with some pointing out that the decisions in fact rest with a person’s employer:
Andrea Leadsom quite rightly pointing out that we need to quickly put an end to regular people "gaming the system" to benefit from government funds.
— Not Andrea Jenkyns MP (@BlandreaJ) June 19, 2021
We've already got that base more than covered ourselves!
Notice the theme: Employers are all hard done by angels, while employees are the ones taking the piss.
— LogicalFallacy (@LogicalFallac18) June 19, 2021
Has it occurred to @andrealeadsom that some employees don't want to return to low paid, overworked, exploitative jobs?
.@andrealeadsom if you’re furloughed, you don’t choose when you go back, the employer does. Why should be people lose employment protection after working for a business for X amount of time, by walking into new jobs with probation and crap notice when they don’t need too?
— Sam (@callmejiggly) June 18, 2021
It’s not an individual choice. The employer chooses who to furlough and who to bring back and when. Why does an MP not understand this?
— Dr Alison Booth (@boothac59) June 19, 2021
Here is starts, of course some people have live furlough and don’t want to go back to work, but now the attacks start on them (like people on benefits) and they’ll soon all be branded lazy/work shy. Ensure it’s safe and possible for them to return before criticising
— Liam Dunn (@liamdunn_131) June 19, 2021
I don't get the criticism. My place couldn't open. Therefore my colleagues and I became eligible for furlough payments so our company didn't make us unemployed. When my workplace opened again, we went back to work.
— Helen, a genetic pain (@Scribberlings) June 18, 2021
You don't get to demand to be on furlough or to stay on it🤦
Regardless of what Ms Leadsom thinks, the scheme is due to change at the end of the month, with the 80 percent state subsidy dropping down to 70 percent in July (employers chip in with the remaining 10 percent) before ending in September.
So it won’t be long before everyone returns to work, hopefully – whether they like it or not.
