UK’s seaside towns fear impact of ending coastguard callout payments
Coastguard agency to stop paying volunteers after court ruled they were classified as workers
“Where would we be without them?” said Ray Wicks of his local coastguard volunteers in Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex. “If the coastguard weren’t in place, a lot of people would be in trouble.”
He was voicing the fears of some in coastal towns over the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) decision to stop paying about £11 an hour for callouts, in response to a court ruling that the money was among the features classifying coastguard officers as workers – giving them benefits such as paid holiday.
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