City of Edinburgh Council is furloughing 425 employees on 100% pay, due to the financial impact of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.
Following negotiations with trade union Unison, affected employees who are unable to carry out their job roles due to building closures, and whose roles are not publicly funded, have been placed on furlough for three weeks, effective from 10 June 2020.
Furloughed employees will still continue to receive all of their existing benefits, with the organisation reviewing the decision on 1 July 2020.
Adam McVey, council leader at City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Positive conversations with trade unions have helped us to develop a scheme which protects our workers’ incomes in full and also helps us deal with some of the significant financial pressures we are dealing with.
“Edinburgh is fairly unique as a local authority in that we have a number of income streams which help us fund and provide services. But these streams are under increasing pressure due to the impacts of Covid-19.
“A small number of council employees are in roles which are usually covered by income raised by their places of work, such as at the Usher Hall, in outdoor learning centres or within catering services. They can’t carry out their usual duties just now due to building closures, and because their roles aren’t publicly funded, furlough makes perfect sense.”
