Furloughing 770 staff is part of Keltbray’s “resilience programme to protect the long term future of the business and safeguard the jobs of its directly-employed workforce.”

Temporary salary reductions will also affect all staff at senior and middle-management levels within the Group’s specialist contracting services (SCS) division and support functions.

The short-term pay cuts for at least the next two months will affect staff earning over £50k base salary per annum. All employees earning less than £50k per annum will not be affected.

Keltbray is also implementing a ‘reduced hours’ scheme for those employees who remain essential to the business at this time, but have experienced a corresponding reduction in workload due to the pausing of work on many sites, particularly in and around London.

The Infrastructure and Rail Division is largely unaffected by these measures as they continue to work at capacity to provide the specialist services for Network Rail and the utility clients who are critical to keeping Britain’s essential services up and running.

Keltbray CEO and Build UK Chairman Brendan Kerr said: “Keltbray is a strong business that thrives on the resilient, ‘can do’ attitude of its people.

“The measured approach we are announcing today demonstrates the underlying strength of the Group to react swiftly, with full consideration of the implications these decisions have on the livelihoods of our people.

“It is imperative that people who are unable to work remotely, and our lower paid staff are protected as much as possible from the financial impacts.

“Therefore it is only right that the most senior people in Keltbray make the largest contribution. We will get through this period by working together.

“It is impossible to predict how long this crisis will last, and we cannot rule out further cash protection measures as part of our resilience programme.

“However, with the response I have seen from our people to date, I’m convinced we will rebound from this period a stronger, fitter business with jobs safeguarded for the long term.”