Fuloughing the housekeeper and gardener

[namechangedforthisverything]

AIBU to think that furloughing the housekeeper and gardener at your own house is wrong? It seems not legally, but morally? Just because the scheme technically allows it aren't we as civilised animals supposed to aspire to do the right thing?

It's Steve Coogan furloughing housekeeper and gardener at his £4m house. It's in the Daily Fail and the Sun and they've contacted him and he's admitted it and said he's done nothing wrong.

I suppose there will always be dreadful people in the world but I just think this is disgusting. AIBU? Or because it's technically legal, is it ok?

He admits that Alan Partridge is the real him, he's a total dickhead, highly intelligent, self aware and unable to stop himself. I've met him a few times and once when I was serving him at an event he starred at my tits for ages and then apologised, cringing and squirming, then did it again about 5 minutes later. I think it is what makes him a so funny.

technically, I guess it's not illegal, but I would have thought a gardener particularly is entirely able to work safely - assuming relatively large gardens and a separate toilet available? Morally, it seems pretty low to expect the tax payer (aka you and me) to cover two (in terms of his income) lowkey wages that an individual can presumably pay fairly easily...
My best guess would be that his accountant/bus manager may have made the decision, but even so...

I think it's morally poor and reveals you to be a shitty person but I expect to be in a minority here (and deliberately have not rtft before replying). But rich people don't get and stay rich by not being greedy and grasping, so I'm not surprised.

He's a knob.

Really despise this use of the furloughed scheme. So he still earns money and his house still needs cleaning.... ummm

Glad he gets called out on it as other individuals have. Will he care? Will he stop and pay them himself?

I can't see why they've been furloughed both could work in isolation no need for furlough

Exactly InfiniteSheldon!

However, I am not surprised that Steve Coogan is behaving this way. It's the difference between doing something that's legal and doing what's morally right.

The likelihood is these people would just not pay them at all if it weren't for the furlough scheme.

Why do people on MN think it's oh so witty to call it the Daily Fail?

because it's a naice thing to do. With head tilt and a tinkly laugh.

What an absolute dickhead. The gardener is not even inside the house. My gardener is still coming.

Why he thinks the taxpayer should be paying his staff is absolutely beyond belief.

I don't like him anyway but I will now actively avoid watching anything with him in (like I now do with Emma Thompson), he's disgusting.

Whther it's brands or celebrities there are winners and losers in reputation with this covid crisis. People won't forget.

Hope this is the most expensive mistake Coogan has made and his career is over.

His gardener could continue to work. SG for some reason doesn't want to pay him

I don’t understand it, does it mean he hires them under a company?
Rather than him as an individual?

He’s just brought out a movie that is a satire on Philip green.....what the fuck is he thinking!!!

I think the bloke is a know, but I don’t think he’s done anything wrong morally.

He probably pays a hefty amount of tax, why shouldn’t he use a scheme that is available from the uk government? Better that he did this than left his staff with no pay. I really dislike the implication that the government shouldn’t support its wealthier citizens. They are part of society too, and deserve support from their government as much as anyone else. The government does not exist only to support poor people.

Also Emma Thompson getting Italian citizenship just moved to Venice but fucking off back to Scotland just before the travel ban is also rich.

No, it illegal, pretty tight though.
The man from ABBA, can’t remember which, one of the two multi-millionaires, was blithering in the radio the other day. Casually mentioned that he’d furloughed the cast of ABBA, The Musical.😳

Not illegal

@NailsNeedDoing

If wealthy people didn't exploit the JRS then it might be able to extend it to help people who really need it but who are unlikely to be able to return to work when the scheme ends in October. It's not a bottomless pit you know!

Corona has brought out the twats. The ones that will tax dodge and take up government schemes meant for those less fortunate etc. They seem to spend their lives looking for loopholes. It's not illegal is it,they cry. No it's not illegal but it's morally repugnant. Yes it's not meant for you, but you don't care about that as long as you get sometime for free.

It's like my teens when I say pick up your rubbish and I go back to check to find bags of rubbish and they say all smugly well you didn't say throw it out.
If you need to be told every little detail that anyone with common sense could work out to stop you doing awful things then you're either an idiot or being deliberately obtuse

Can't stand him, don't know what it is but I think he is the most irritating person ever so I can't give a balanced view as I know I wouldn't be objective.

Absolutely reprehensible. His gardener could carry on working as usual and he could actually try paying his cleaner for the time they're off this ordinary non millionaire celebrity types are. Complete twat

Loads of companies have furloughed people they didn't need to.. my employer has furloughed 40% of head office staff despite business being as good as usual, as they are not really an industry affected by this.

They've openly admitted it as well and see nothing wrong. How is this different to what Coogan, Beckhams etc are doing? The govt needed to pull something out of its ass pronto when we went into lockdown and unfortunatley the one size fits all approach has brought out the chancers.

Or because it's technically legal, is it ok?
It isn't "technically" legal. It is legal.

I think that, morally, those who are well-off should bear the costs themselves. I hope the behaviour of all the people who do the wrong thing during this pandemic - Coogan, Gordon Ramsay, Mike Ashley and Victoria Beckam to name a few (MA & VB only changed their minds due to the criticism received) are remembered when this is over. Reward those who do the right thing with our custom and boycott the greedy rich ones who did the wrong thing.

*my employer has furloughed 40% of head office staff despite business being as good as usual, as they are not really an industry affected by this.

They've openly admitted it as well and see nothing wrong. How is this different to what Coogan, Beckhams etc are doing?*

It's not.

It was The Sun that broke the 'story' btw.

His gardener could work and the scheme absolutely wasn't set up for this. It's hardly his 'business' is it?

Because the Daily Mail is a horrible, racist shitrag so far removed from an actual newspaper that it isn’t considered a reliable source by information sites like Wikipedia.

Oh, and the Beckhams withdrew their claim.