Radisson Blu: Edinburgh hotel take zero hour workers off furlough despite still not able to provide work

A prominent hotel in the Capital has informed all its zero hour workers that they will be removed from the extended job retention scheme, despite not being able to offer any work.

The Radisson Blu Hotel on the Royal Mile informed its workers, in an email seen by the Edinburgh Evening News,that they: “will no longer be including zero-hour team members on the Extended Job Retention Scheme which means that the company will no longer be making furlough payments to you under the terms of this scheme with effect from 07 March 2021."

A current employee, who wishes to remain anonymous, said that this move has taken away his entire income.

‘It’s really left me in a crisis’: Edinburgh hotel take zero hour workers off furlough despite still not able to provide work

He said: “It’s really left me in a crisis. I have no more income.

"I’m trying to find another job, but the market is the worst at the moment.

"It’s making me ill, I’m not really sure what to do next.

“I’ve seen people who have worked there for years who have had to leave.”

He added that he has not yet quit as the company have not actually terminated the employment of zero hour contract staff, and he hopes that if he is unsuccessful with the job hunt, he might still get hours sometime down the line.

He says that he has received no support from the company, and the only communication he has had is the email informing him he would stop getting furlough money.

A spokesperson for Radisson Hotel Group said: “COVID-19 has severely affected the world and the hospitality industry.

“To mitigate the effects of COVID-19, we took immediate action and made use of the UK Government’s Job Retention Scheme.

“Regrettably, after reviewing our future occupancy and demand forecasts for this hotel, we have had to make the difficult decision to no longer include zero-hour team members on the Extended Job Retention Scheme.

“This is not a decision the business has taken lightly during these unprecedented times.

“We understand this is an extremely difficult time for those affected and we will provide support to them throughout the process.

“All these employees remain employed on the terms stipulated in their contract and the company will offer them hours as and when business levels require.”

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