Companies that pay dividends in the era of Covid could face a serious public backlash

A survey by Find Out Now [1], the digital poll, asked over 3,500 UK residents "Do you think companies that have furloughed staff should still pay a dividend to shareholders this year if they feel they can afford it?"

The answers are clear cut - 63% of responders say the answer is simply "No".

Nearly 9 million workers are now covered by the government furlough scheme, at a cost to the taxpayer so far of nearly £20 billion [2]. Many if not most large companies have taken advantage of the scheme.

According to The Times today [3], Bosses at Wizz Air are handing out bonuses potentially worth millions, despite making a thousand staff redundant and using the government furlough scheme.

Chris Holbrook, founder of Find Out Now, said: "I think the City and big business are facing a backlash if they continue to expect dividends to shareholders while millions lose their jobs."

The poll was conducted on Wednesday June 10th.  Responses were analysed balancing nationally representative quotas for age, gender, region and social economic group within a margin of 1% using a sub-sample of 2,000.  Full details here [4].