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Furloughed workers restricted from borrowing, as lenders tighten criteria
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Lana ClementsHSBC is the latest lender to restrict who can borrow in light of the impact of Covid-19 on the jobs market
HSBC is no longer accepting furlough employees who have no return to work date or where the return is more than three months away.
The lender is the latest to toughen criteria related to employees who have been put on paid leave from their job.
However, HSBC is still accepting applications from workers on furlough although the latest payslip is needed, alongside a letter from the employer confirming the borrowers return to work income and return to work date.
The type of contract the employee is returning on will also need to be outlined, including whether it is full or part-time and a permanent or fixed-term contract.
For furloughed employees returning to work, post-furlough income can be used in the application.
A HSBC UK spokesperson said: “We continue to be open for business and support the housing market, including lending up to 90% loan to value and providing new lending to customers returning to work from the government’s furlough scheme.
“In order to ensure our application processing is as timely as possible while continuing to lend responsibly, for customers on furlough we are asking for a letter from their employer providing details of return to work date and salary as part of the application process.”
Earlier this month, TSB stopped accepting income from furloughed workers whose salary was not being topped up by their employer.
At the end of June, it was calculated around 9.3 million workers have been furloughed by 1.1 million employers through the government’s job retention scheme which runs until the end of October.
It’s feared many employees will not return to work when the scheme ends and lose their jobs completely.