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UK’s biggest house builder furloughs 85% of staff
Barratt, the largest house builder in the country, has furloughed roughly 85% of its over 6,000 employees as its sites remain closed in response to the coronavirus crisis.
In a stock market update released this morning, the house builder said it will pay its employees their normal pay while they are furloughed until at least the end of May.
At the same time all executive directors, the wider executive and regional managing director team, the chair and the non-executive directors have agreed to a voluntary 20% reduction in base salary and fees, which will be effective from this month.
According to Barratt’s latest annual report, the company employed 6,504 people, suggesting that roughly 5,500 individuals have been furloughed.
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Under the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Treasury will pay 80% of an employee’s salary if they are put on furlough during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Employers can decide whether they want to top up the money provided by the government in order to pay an employee their full salary while they are not working.
Furloughing staff is one of a series of measures Barratt is taking to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus crisis, after the organisation took the decision to close all of its sales centres, construction sites and offices at the end of last month.
Previously announced measures include suspending all land buying activity, postponing all non-essential capital expenditure and cancelling dividend payments.
Similar steps have been taken by other major house builders, including Taylor Wimpey, Bellway and Vistry Group.
Meanwhile, housing associations across the country are implementing their own cash-saving programmes, which include limiting recruitment and reducing spend on development.
The majority of construction sites across the country currently remain closed. However, some are expected to go back to work this week after the latest guidance issued to the construction sector suggests sites can remain open if face-to-face contact is kept to a maximum of 15 minutes.
