Hastings council furloughs 16 members of staff

A spokesman said the employees were unable to work because their roles could not be undertaken from home.

The council is using the government’s job retention scheme, which ends at the end of October, to furlough the workers.

A spokesman for Hastings Borough Council said a lot of staff have been redeployed into the community hub which has helped reduce its need to furlough.

The news comes after Eastbourne Borough Council announced it had furloughed 280 members of staff during the pandemic.

Most of those workers would normally be working within venues such as theatres or involved in organising the summer events calendar, a spokesman said.