Bosses at an historic Perthshire hotel have been branded “callous” for sacking workers and forcing them out “with nowhere to go” just weeks before Christmas.
Letters were sent to 17 staff at the Fisher’s Hotel in Pitlochry, confirming the “sad and difficult decision” to terminate their employment.
The Dublin-based Castle Hotel Group, which took over the 130-bedroom establishment in 2011, said it needed to reduce its payroll while the hotel continued trading at “very low levels”.
General manager Brian Wishart said workers were let go after the hotel was denied government support.
In a letter to the affected group of staff, Mr Wishart wrote: “We have reached this decision to help protect the future of the hotel during this pandemic”.
He added: “The furlough scheme is in place, however the hotel has to contribute to the national insurance and pension elements of your salary, this is not a cost we can sustain until the end of March.”
Staff who live in the hotel are allowed to stay until their leaving date, without charge. They were told: “I understand how this may affect you and believe me, it has been difficult in coming to this decision, however I do need to protect the long-term future of the hotel.”
The Unite Hospitality union has pointed out that many employees are from EU countries such as Poland, Hungary, Spain and the Czech Republic and may have nowhere to go.
A spokesperson said: “Castle Hotel Group can and should be using the Job Retention Scheme (JRS) to continuing furloughing until March 2021.
“This would cost the company as little as £50 per month per worker.”
He added: “We call upon Castle Hotel Group to withdraw this callous action just two weeks before Christmas and use the JRS as intended.”
Staff leaving dates vary depending on holiday allocation, but one employee’s letter seen by The Courier states that they must get out by December 13.
The Courier understand the majority have already made arrangements to travel home for Christmas, while a few others are getting extra support from Perth and Kinross Council.
Mr Wishart said that the group of affected staff were recruited recently, after the hotel reopened in July, and “they would have been advised that this would have been a possibility when they joined.”
He said: “We did hope to take the entire team with us through the winter, however we were denied grant aid. The cost of the furlough scheme would have exceeded £100,000, and this is a cost the hotel could not sustain without government assistance.”
Mr Wishart added: “All staff were asked to contact me should they have any difficulties arranging flights home or had difficulty finding alternative accommodation and I am assisting those who have come forward.”
He said: “It is never ideal to lose staff, especially such a nice group of people. With the current restrictions, whilst I can’t be certain when we will require to increase our staff, they have been advised we will give them first refusal on any future jobs.”
During lockdown, Fisher’s was able to retain its entire workforce, with 25 staff living in the hotel and offering hot meals to the local community.
Local SNP MSP and Deputy First Minister John Swinney described the development as “hugely worrying”.
He said: “Whilst this pandemic has been particularly difficult for our hospitality sector, there is significant government support in place to ensure that businesses are able to continue to employ their staff.”
Mr Swinney added: “It is also the case that the majority of the affected workers will be from countries within the European Union. Without a job or a place to stay, they will likely be forced to return to their home country.
“As a result of the end of freedom of movement, it may well be the case that – through no fault of their own – they will be unable to return to Scotland.”
He said he will contact the hotel owners “as a matter of urgency to better understand their thought process, and urge them to reconsider”.
The hotel has stood in the centre of Pitlochry for nearly 200 years. It boasts a guestbook signed by Prime Minister William Gladstone and Dunfermline-born philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.
Fisher’s, which usually welcomes 75,000 visitors a year and gets a boost each October from the Enchanted Forest, was renovated following a major fire in the early hours of New Year’s Day 2017.
There are no redundancies at Pitlochry’s Atholl Palace Hotel, which is also owned by the Castle Hotel Group.
