Kirstie Allsopp sparks backlash with tweet about homeworkers getting back to the office

Kirstie Allsopp has sparked a debate by suggesting that workers should be rushing to return to their offices as soon as they can.

Many people have been working from home as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

But the Location, Location, Location star warned employees that bosses could choose to hire cheaper workers from abroad, and said she would be hurrying back in if she had an office role.

Read more: Kirstie Allsopp quit Twitter after she was abused for smashing her kids' iPads

“If your job can be done from home it can be done from abroad where wages are lower,” she posted on Twitter.

“If I had an office job I’d want to be first in the queue to get back to work and prove my worth to my employer.

“I am terrified by what could be on the horizon for so many.”

The message triggered a debate on Twitter, with some people saying the TV personality “knows nothing of real work” and asking: “How do you know how office workers are feeling?”

“I have been working from home since April. I have doing all the same duties at home as I would do in an office. My productivity is better at home as no distractions, no commuting. I think you are out of order,” tweeted one person.

“I find people love being lectured by a rich woman who doesn’t have an office job,” said another.

“I should add @Channel4 I am more than capable and happy to do Kirsty's (sic) job, from my home for half what you pay her.”

However, others agreed with Allsopp, saying she was “spot on”.

“Seriously people, why are so many of you are missing Kirstie's point?” tweeted one person.

“She is clearly warning those WFH, that if you don't need to attend an office etc, there is a risk the companies could lay you off.”

Read more: Kirstie Allsopp rubbishes claims she spread coronavirus by moving family to country home

Allsopp, 48, followed up her first post by insisting her message was “not an ‘attack’ on ‘homeworkers’.”

“It’s about the coming wave of redundancies and the fact that many believe that out of sight if out of mind,” she said.

“You can agree or disagree but that doesn’t make it an ‘attack’.”

She also warned: “The only thing we all know is that a 66% drop in people working away from home will have a negative impact on so many sectors of the economy.

“Jobs will be lost, a lot of jobs.”

In response to claims she was “scaremongering”, she wrote: “People scaremongering about Covid all day long, if I’m terrified of the economic damage I think it’s important to say so.”