Ed Sheeran will not take taxpayer dollars to pay the employees of his London restaurant Bertie Blossoms.
The Notting Hill restaurant, which the singer co-owns with manager Stuart Camp, was forced to close last month due to the COVID-19 crisis.
According to The Sun, Sheeran has refused to furlough the 10 employees and benefit from a program in which the government covers 80 percent of the workers’ salaries.
“The business … is not, and will not, be accessing any Government scheme of any kind, including furloughing, grants, loans and so on,” Sheeran’s rep told the tabloid.
Former Spice Girls member Victoria Beckham has come under fire in Britain for furloughing 30 employees of her fashion label and taking the government aid, even though she and husband David Beckham are worth an estimated $584 million.