Hotel's staff to gain an extra £1000 as Crerar launches £150k Fair Fund
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Hospitality group Crerar Hotels, whose portfolio includes properties in the Highlands, is giving its staff an average £1000 extra pay-out with the launch of a new "Fair Fund".
This will see approximately £150,000 paid out to the Crerar Hotels team this month, above their agreed salaries.
Crerar Hotels owns seven four and five-star hotels and inns across Scotland, including the Golf View Hotel and Spa in Nairn, Oban Bay Hotel, Isle of Mull Hotel and Spa, The Glencoe Inn, Deeside Inn, and Thainstone House near Inverurie.
Staff in all the group's properties will be rewarded via the fund which is made up of guest contributions. The payment is quarterly, giving staff who are now on or above Minimum Living wage regular Fair Fund payments to top up their wages.
It follows the introduction of an optional 10 per cent service charge at each property, giving guests a simple way to reward team members for outstanding service.
Since June, a total of £150,000 has amassed thanks to guests opting in when paying for lunch, dinner, afternoon tea or spa treatments.
The Fair Fund will be paid to more than 200 employees, across all departments on an equal basis.
Hotel team members stand to earn approximately £1000 on top of their annual salaries, with their Fair Fund payment being proportionate to the number of hours worked during the last three-months. For some chefs, this amounted to a £2000 top up for three months of excellent service.
Crerar Hotels has also launched a number of employee benefits, and committed £1 million to talent attraction, retention, and development via the Crerar Academy.
Nairn employee Bethan Moore is among the staff who will gain from the fund.
She joined Golf View Hotel and Spa in 2017 and worked in the reception before quickly moving up the ranks to Food and Beverage Supervisor.
“The news of the Fair Fund pay-out is fantastic," she said.
"We already get so many benefits from Crerar Hotels that you don’t see in other hospitality businesses, but this is the icing on the cake, and makes us all feel really appreciated by the guests and the business.
“I really enjoy the flexibility with shifts that I get working for Crerar Hotels as I am able to work around my busy family life – something many people wouldn’t normally associate with a job in the industry. I started just after maternity leave and four years and one more child later, I still love my job, the location and the people I work with.
“For my work anniversary, we were given an overnight stay as a family, and I appreciate the simple things like being able to take my daughter to school and use the leisure facilities – it all adds up. The Fair Fund payment is an added top up which will allow me to treat myself and family.”
Chief executive Chris Wayne-Wills said: “All of our team members work incredibly hard to deliver first-class, authentic Scottish hospitality, so we wanted to give guests a simple way to reward this that would result in a completely fair, transparent structure.
“The Fair Fund ensures that staff receive a pay-out which is proportionate to the hours they work and means that those working behind the scenes are also rewarded for their hard work.
“We’ve made the system completely transparent so all team members can see who has earned what in each quarter and absolutely every penny contributed by guests is given to our deserving employees.”
