Coronavirus: UK faces lifeguard shortage as RNLI to furlough third of staff

Charity to also halt building of new lifeboats amid 'testing' times

The RNLI has decided to furlough one third of its staff in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. (Ben Birchall/PA Wire)

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is planning to furlough almost a third of its staff over the next few weeks, leading to fears that the UK will face a lifeguard shortage if the coronavirus lockdown is lifted suddenly.

The charity, whose 238 lifeboat stations remain operational across the UK and Ireland, will also halt the construction of new lifeboats and the planned replacement of buildings and equipment.

Mark Dowie, the chief executive of the RNLI, said warned the pandemic was a “testing” time for charities and emergency services.

“We have some reserves in place to deal with short sharp shocks to our financial situation,” Mr Dowie said.

“However, we are all facing unprecedented times and we have seen an immediate impact not just on our frontline services, but also on our ability to fundraise which is already having an impact on our finances,” he added.

The chief executive, who has decided to take a 50 per cent pay cut until the coronavirus crisis is over, announced almost one third of the RNLI’s will be put on furlough this month.

The staff who are being placed on furlough will include trainers and those who build lifeboats.

The RNLI has paused its lifeguard patrols in line with government advice. Lifeguards would be unable to follow social distancing guidelines, as they train and work in pairs.

The decision was also made to discourage people from going to beaches during the lockdown.

Usually, 1,600 lifeguards would be needed to patrol around 250 beaches over the summer season.

A spokesperson for the RNLI told The Independent: “It won’t be possible to deliver the whole lifeguard network instantly as it will take some time to ramp up again.

“We are focused on delivering the best services we can to the busiest beaches and are looking very closely at how we can do that. We, like everyone else, are tackling each issue as it presents itself in these difficult and uncertain times.”