Staff working at Lloyds Bank's office in Merseyside have raised fears over not being able to pay bills after they were temporarily suspended without pay until further notice.
Around 100 people working as contractors at the site in Speke are affected by the move in reaction to the Covid-19 crisis, with several having contacted BusinessLive to say they are also not eligible to be furloughed under the Government's Job Retention Scheme.
One worker said he will now have to apply for Universal Credit but that it won't be enough - and has fears he won't be able to pay his bills.
There are over 600 contractors working for Lloyds' range of services in Speke and Huntswood, the firm managing the workforce, said the majority will continue to support essential services - either from home or at the site.
One worker, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "We've been left with no financial support. I’m worried about not having enough money to pay my bills if and when the suspension gets extended.
"I have friends who are suspended and they have families to feed and they earn the most money for the household so they’re left with nothing.
"It’s not acceptable in my opinion."
He said staff have been told the suspension will last until current Government social distancing measures are relaxed - something he said will be "a long time away".
The changes to contracts at Lloyds in Speke were implemented on April 17.
The contractors are not directly employed by Huntswood or Lloyds, but various intermediary umbrella companies of their choosing.
But the worker said he and others had only begun employment with an umbrella company in March, and that payroll was not processed until April, meaning they cannot be furloughed under the current rules.
He said he has also contacted local politicians in a bid to get help and force a change to the Government's rules.
A spokeswoman for Huntswood said: “We know how vital it is to keep our colleagues safe. Their health and wellbeing is a key priority for Huntswood at this challenging time and as we follow the government’s guidelines.
“There are a number of reasons the full contractor workforce is unable to return to work safely at this time, including availability of technology for working from home and the space required for safe social distancing measures to be in place on site.
"We are working to increase the availability of technology for working from home and policies are being assessed on an ongoing basis in light of government guidance."
