Do your staff want a change in working hours?
The Working Time Directive could create conditions that will be less beneficial to the very people it is designed to help - employees.
This opinion is not mine alone, it is also the opinion of my staff. Yes, the maximum working week, the minimum wage level and the minimum break period between shifts all sound very good on the surface to employees, until they think about their own set of circumstances.
One of my senior receptionists, Liz Bryson, has worked at Fairfield House for 12 years. A few years ago she moved out of the area because her husband was promoted and transferred. Liz wanted to continue working at Fairfield House even though she now lived 60 miles away.
The compromise was that Liz would work a total of four shifts per week - late on Sunday, early on Monday, late on Thursday and early on Friday. This meant Liz would make only two return journeys per working week, and if there were spare rooms she could sleep at the hotel.
This arrangement suits Liz and it also suits the hotel. If the proposed legislation is enforced, Liz will not be able to work these shifts because she finishes at 11pm and starts again at 7am, giving her only an eight-hour break between shifts, three hours less than the proposed minimum. If Liz could not continue working these shifts, she would have to leave us owing to the distance and costs involved, and that would be a great shame for us both.
My other receptionists do not want to work one week of early shifts nor one week of late shifts, which is what they would have to do if the proposed legislation came into force.
My night porters would also be affected. They like their working week as it is at the moment, thank you. Thomas Linsey, my trusted five-nights-a-week man, comes into the hotel at 10.45pm and immediately checks the entire building, closing all fire exit doors, walking the corridors and generally reassuring himself that all is well on the security front before reporting to reception for his routine hand-over with the duty receptionist.
Teamwork
Tom likes to help "Big Carol", our breakfast waitress, between 8 and 8.30am. Some mornings he will stay until 10am if Carol is particularly busy. This shows his dedication and flexibility. He works because he wants to, not because he is on the rota. Some weeks Tom might work 50 hours and some he might work 45. He decides, depending on how rushed Big Carol is on any particular morning. That's what you call teamwork.
Tom is very happy with his existing terms and conditions of employment and gives us 110% commitment, without signing in and signing out, without interference from trade unions or government legislation.
When Tom goes on holiday, George, my trusted two-nights-a-week man, will cover the entire period of night porter shifts in Tom's absence and Tom will cover the entire period of shifts when George is on holiday. They do this without any request from me, because they have taken on the responsibility and would not have it any other way.
People such as Liz, Tom and George and my other trusted and respected members of staff at Fairfield House, would not benefit from the new employment legislation proposals; they would vote against them if there was a referendum. At the moment they have flexibility and freedom of choice, which gives them a sense of importance. Quite rightly so, they deserve it.
I am not opposed to a minimum wage level, nor am I opposed to a maximum working week, but I am totally opposed to the lack of freedom of choice over how many hours in any one 24-hour period my staff can work; and so are they.
My staff work enough unsociable hours at the moment; the new legislation could mean they work even more. This would make it even harder than it already is to attract quality people into our industry. We need to work out ways to reduce the unsociable hours, not increase them.
Professional
I refuse to accept that my staff are working under sufferance or are frightened to voice their opinions about their terms and conditions of employment. The entire ethos of Fairfield House is one of staff working together, caring for residents and diners who enjoy our relaxed, professional approach. Every member of my staff is proud of Fairfield House.
We function efficiently with the minimum of legislation and little interference from government, and that's the way all of us like it. Hopefully, we will be allowed to continue.
