Pan Mac and Bloomsbury repay furlough grant

Pan Macmillan and Bloomsbury have both chosen to repay furlough funding to the government, following the example of HarperCollins, which did not take the grant, with c.e.o. Charlie Redmayne now describing it as "morally indefensible" for successful businesses to take the cash.

The furlough scheme, introduced by chancellor Riski Sunak in March 2020, and now extended to September this year, has helped companies retain jobs during lockdown by paying 80% of their salary while staffers remain off work.

HarperCollins is understood to have furloughed just over 100 people when the scheme was first introduced but all staffers had returned to work by the end of May 2020. The publisher did not claim any money from the government and the company covered the costs of those colleagues working in the supply chain who have been shielding. The global company has reported rising revenues.

HC c.e.o. Charlie Redmayne told The Bookseller: “The government's furlough scheme was well conceived and has saved thousands of companies and millions of jobs in this country. As the lockdown lifts and the economy opens up, businesses that would otherwise have gone down can re-emerge and have a chance of getting back up to speed.

"When the first lockdown started we furloughed a number of staff as we believed that we faced an existential threat with as much as 70% of our retail channels closing. Over the next month it became clear that we were weathering the storm far better than we had anticipated so we immediately responded by bringing our people back and announcing we would not be taking any money from the government scheme. This pandemic has heaped a huge amount of debt on our country which will take decades to pay off — successful businesses that have not been impacted and whose profits have indeed grown during Covid should not be adding to it by claiming money through the scheme — to do so is in my opinion morally indefensible."

Bloomsbury, which had 16 people on furlough from the end of April to end of October last year, has reimbursed the government £63,000, after predicting annual profit "well ahead" of market expectations. Chief executive Nigel Newton said: "Furlough payments made sense at the time we initially furloughed staff. However, as the pandemic unfolded and we saw the impact on other industries we realised that it would be appropriate to repay payments we’d received (albeit for a small number of staff) to ensure that other industries who were not able to function during the pandemic could receive funds that were sorely needed."

Pan Macmillan, which furloughed two full-time members of its facilities staff between April and 31st May 2020, and one part-time staffer from March to September 2020. also confirmed it has "made the decision to repay the furlough funds to the UK government", after recording the second best year in its history.

At Penguin Random House UK, The Bookseller understands there are still a few staff currently on furlough, including receptionists, who would be unable to do their jobs remotely. All other employees are working. The scheme was used last year for some staffers between April and the end of June, with all those on furlough paid 100% of salary, with PRH choosing to top up the government's contribution. Of those on the scheme, there was a mixture of full-time and part-time workers. A spokesperson confirmed: “We made use of the government’s furlough scheme during the early months as a temporary but necessary measure to protect jobs in line with the government guidance.” PRH UK is not believed to have repaid the furlough grant to government.

A spokesperson from Hachette, which had record sales in 2020, confirmed the publisher had a handful of employees still on furlough, including “some who are in distribution operations roles who are clinically vulnerable and shielding following official government notification, and others who are in facilities-based roles that [the publisher is] phasing back in from April/May, as [it] prepares to reopen Carmelite House when all government restrictions are lifted in June." The publisher has yet to comment on repayment of the furlough grant.

Anna MacLaren May, Bonnier Books UK's people director, confirmed the company was still offering the scheme. “We have been offering the option of flexible furlough to parents who have been juggling work with childcare and home-schooling," she said. " As schools returned on 8th March, this is naturally tapering off and those who were on flexible furlough are beginning to return to their normal work pattern. However, as an employer, we’re aware that this is still a challenging time for everyone and so we will continue to consult our staff closely in order to provide the best support possible.” Bonnier Books UK, whose 2020 results have been described as "positive", has yet to comment on furlough repayments.

At Simon & Schuster c.e.o. Ian Chapman said there were no plans to use the furlough scheme. He said: “it’s not something we are currently considering, particularly given the strength of the year we have just had. We will of course continue to review the situation as needed. However, we consider ourselves to be in a very strong position at the moment. We are also continuing to work with our staff to offer flexibility where needed and are emphasising the importance of communication to ensure that the right balance of health and wellbeing, combined with our work commitments, is at the forefront of all we do.”

Among independents, Juliet Mabey, co-founder and publisher at Oneworld, has a few members of staff on the extended scheme. She said: “All Oneworld staff are currently working, but a few are still on furlough for one or two days a week, and this might well continue during the summer, depending on fluctuating workloads. The flexibility of the revised furlough scheme has been very helpful, especially when bookshops were closed and publication dates delayed, which meant that some staff could easily manage their workload over fewer days.” Jenny Fry, commercial director at Canongate, confirmed the publisher was no longer using the scheme but “everyone in the company is working flexibly, depending on their various needs”.