A council in Essex is set to furlough some of its staff in order to limit the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Colchester Borough Council will make use of the Government's Job Retention Scheme to furlough staff who are unable to work or because they cannot be deployed to other service areas.
The council estimates it is facing financial loss of around £10m due to the crisis.
Cllr David King, the council’s portfolio holder for business and resources, said: ‘Despite the recent welcome news the council is to receive a further £1.94m from the Government to help us deal with the immediate impacts of coronavirus, that aid meets only 20% of our likely losses this year. That is why we have made the difficult decision to furlough staff we cannot redeploy.
’This action, along with the Government’s latest funding pledge, will help us mitigate some of the pressing financial challenges created by the pandemic, which have significantly reduced the council’s income.’
Photo: © David Hawgood
