Breaking News - B&Q to Furlough Staff Across Their Business

News has broken this afternoon that B&Q are planning to 'Furlough' staff right across their business, beginning with their Store Support Office in Eastleigh. Conversations will be taking place at their Head Office tomorrow, with decisions effective from Thursday 2nd April 2020.

Some staff went on social media yesterday, posting that they had been advised by Graham Bell that 'difficult decisions had to be made to protect jobs and the long-term future of the business'.

Earlier this afternoon, B&Q released a statement exclusively to Steve Collinge from Insight DIY:-

"B&Q has recently adapted how we operate to meet our obligations to the government as an essential retailer while keeping all our colleagues safe and continuing to meet our customers’ needs. 

We have moved to online only, making diy.com our primary store for a limited range of essential products to keep homes safe, warm and in working order. We’re fulfilling orders with new contact-free collection services in our store carparks, and home delivery. All stores remain closed, and we are urging customers to only buy things if they’re absolutely necessary.

In view of these significant changes to our business and the seriousness of the situation we are facing, we have taken the decision to make use of the government’s Coronavirus job retention scheme and are furloughing a number of colleagues across our business, starting with head office teams on Thursday 2 April.

These are unprecedented times and by making these difficult decisions now, we are seeking to protect the long-term future of B&Q for our colleagues and our customers, in the best way that we can".

As more information on the numbers affected becomes available, we'll report it here first on Insight DIY. Our thoughts go out to everyone affected by this decision.

Source: Insight DIY and B&Q.

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