The Truth About ITR: My Experience of Exploitation During Furlough

The pandemic was one of the hardest periods for employees across the UK. Many companies used furlough the way it was intended, to protect jobs and safeguard staff wellbeing. My experience at ITR was the complete opposite. Instead of support, I witnessed furlough abuse, employee exploitation and dishonest business practices that created a toxic workplace.

Working Through Furlough at ITR

While on furlough, directors instructed us to keep working. They justified it by calling us “key workers” because the business supposedly had government projects. From what I saw, that was not true. I recorded video calls and meetings where directors admitted the risks and acknowledged they were breaking the rules. One even said they could afford to pay the fine if the company got caught.

The message was clear. Either work or risk losing your job. Directors told us that refusing to work could reflect badly on us, and many colleagues who pushed back eventually faced redundancy. It created fear and intimidation at a time when mental health was already fragile.

This was not unique to ITR. Reports in The Guardian show how many employees across the UK endured similar abuse of the furlough scheme, pressured to work illegally during lockdown.

Pay and Holidays Twisted Against Staff

ITR also twisted holiday entitlement and salaries in ways that trapped people financially. If I took a personal day, they deducted it as holiday, even though furloughed staff weren’t being properly paid. Directors attempted to restructured salaries into an unrealistic target system. Whatever number you picked as your annual salary became your monthly sales target. This type of unfair pay practice piled on stress and caused a staff mental health crisis.

Evidence of Dishonesty

Even after furlough ended, dishonesty continued. When I returned briefly to Immersive AV, a director sent me a WhatsApp message asking me to work from home because someone from the business growth grant department was visiting. The message described the request as “naughty” but said it was needed to make the company look like only a handful of people worked in the office. I still have that message saved on my phone.

I reported this evidence of illegal working during lockdown to HMRC, but as far as I know, nothing has happened yet. The fact that the message exists in black and white, yet no action has been taken, shows how little accountability the company faced.

Why I Walked Away

The most damaging part of my experience at ITR wasn’t just the furlough exploitation or the unfair pay structure. It was the total disregard for people. Directors pressured staff to work through a national crisis, silenced those who spoke up, and treated employees as disposable. Instead of protecting staff wellbeing during lockdown, the company exploited fear for profit.

Looking back, I think Stockholm syndrome played a part in why I stayed as long as I did. Many of us felt trapped but convinced ourselves it was normal. That mindset also explains why I went back a second time, hoping things might be different.

Eventually, I walked away because I couldn’t stay in that environment. Today I feel grateful I left, but I know others were not as fortunate. For me, ITR will always stand as a reminder of how badly a company can fail when it chooses short-term survival and dishonest business practices over honesty, accountability and human decency.