Secret recordings appear to show managers telling staff how to avoid detection while they continued to work
Thousands of companies are thought to have misused the government's furlough scheme - introduced to support businesses during the pandemic.The company, based in Yorkshire, said it will refer itself to HMRC for investigation following the BBC's programme. "So, what he [the company's chief executive] said is, if you can delete them, delete them," she tells staff in a Zoom conversation.
The company's chief executive, Nigel Brewster, is heard telling anxious employees not to worry because he has "a cunning plan". The government's furlough scheme, officially known as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme , was designed to protect jobs during the Covid pandemic by paying 80% of wages - up to a maximum of £2,500 a month.
Last week, HMRC released new figures estimating that "error and fraud" made up 8.7% of the total amount it paid out through the scheme, equating to approximately £6bn.Brewster Partners is just one of many thousands of companies accused of wrongful claims.
I know a school that did this too.
Yeah, them and thousands of others.
Recruitment firm blames typo, they thought it said the government help said freedough.