ONE of Edinburgh’s largest hospitality businesses has committed to paying in full all 76 salaried and contracted staff over at least the next three months – despite the severe impact of COVID-19.
Surgeons Quarter, the operator of Edinburgh’s largest independent hotel and some of the capital’s busiest events venues has made the pledge to protect staff and give them vital financial certainty over the next quarter.
While many hospitality organisations will not be in a position to offer this guarantee, Surgeons Quarter’s management believes this is the correct approach while the city and wider world awaits to see how the pandemic unfolds.
The promise comes following a bold move to offer use of its four star Ten Hill Place hotel free of charge to all key clinical and medical workers at Edinburgh’s hospitals.
Owned by parent body, The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd), it has also signalled its willingness to the Chief Medical Officer for the hotel to be adopted by the health service should hospitals overflow.
Scott Mitchell, Managing Director of Surgeons Quarter, said: “In these uncertain and rapidly changing times, it is absolutely essential that we stand behind our highly talented workforce and give them financial certainty.
“When we come out the other end of this current situation we will need all of our team to be ready to regrow our business and I, the Company and the College will do everything in our power to avoid cutting our workforce.”
As a company, Surgeons Quarter does not have a company sick pay scheme and would normally operate using Statutory Sick Pay. In these unusual times, it has moved to add discretionary sick pay at full pay levels for those team members required to self-isolate for either the seven or 14 day period.
Professor Michael Griffin, President of the College, said: “Surgeons Quarter in normal times services College and external events and provides excellent accommodation and service in Ten Hill Place, Café 1505 and all parts of the College.
“These activities provide the College with supplementary funds to improve patient outcomes around the world. It is therefore only right in these unusual times that the College stands behind and protects the Surgeons Quarter team.
I would personally like to thank Scott and all the Surgeons Quarter team for their ongoing efforts in supporting the College and now the key workers within the Medical and Clinical workforce.”
Expanded and fully refurbished in 2018, Ten Hill Place is now the city’s largest independently-owned hotel.
Surgeons Quarter promotes, sells and manages all commercial activities held within the RCSEd campus. All profits support the charitable aims of the College which are education, assessment and advancement in surgical standards worldwide.
It typically boasts a year-round calendar of events and national and international conferences, making full use of the wide range of venues within the college campus.
Ten Hill Place Hotel can be contacted on 0131 662 2080.
