London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 16, 2025

Owner of Pimlico Plumbers sacks workers who refuse to return after furlough

A millionaire businessman has sacked several employees who wouldn’t come back to work after their furlough payments ended.
Entrepreneur Charlie Mullins, who owns Pimlico Plumbers, says he terminated people’s contracts and made others redundant on Friday after ending his company’s use of the Government scheme.

A majority of the 450 people who work for what is one of Britain’s biggest independent plumbing firms have returned but the 30 who didn’t lost their jobs, according to MailOnline.

The tycoon believes other employers should do the same to limit the economic damage and stop people ‘milking’ the system.

He’s called for the job retention programme to be replaced by something that only helps the most troubled industries and those unable to work because they are vulnerable.

He said: ‘We made a decision on Friday that you’re either back to work or we’ve made you redundant. The furlough scheme was a good idea and it was the lifeline that businesses and workers needed at the time.

‘But I think it’s been badly abused and milked by a lot of people who don’t want to go back to work.

‘I had people begging to come back to work and I had other people telling everybody the last thing they wanted to do was to go back to work and they’ll stay on furlough as long as they can.’

The move came as employers began to pay National Insurance and pension contributions for employees still on furlough.

The change, which came into force on August 1, has led to fears that many companies who haven’t yet recovered from the crisis will begin to make mass redundancies.

It’s estimated that the scheme has so far cost the Government £25billion. From September, only 70 per cent of staff wages will be paid by the state and this figure will reduce further before the whole scheme is closed for good in November.

The government’s offered a one-off £1,000 payment to all companies who bring employees back and keep them on between November and January 2021.

Mr Mullins is regarded as Britain’s richest plumber, with an estimated fortune of £70million. His company works for several celebrity clients including Keira Knightley, Daniel Craig and Dame Helen Mirren.

In February he stepped down as chief executive and handed control to his son Scott, taking the role of chairman instead.

He said: ‘A lot of bosses are uncomfortable saying to people: “You no longer have a job.” It’s not a nice thing to have to do.

‘Companies are putting it off because someone else is paying and to me they’re not proper bosses. You’ve got to take the rough with the smooth. You’ve got to take the criticism.

‘I said from day one, I’m not prepared to pay anybody to sit at home and do nothing. Now this has kicked into play… we’ve made people redundant.’

He also said his company won’t accept the £1,000 one off payment being offered by the government, calling it a ‘bribe.’ All those who do take the money and then let staff go next year should be fined £10,000, according to Mr Mullins.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
×