Living Wage Foundation Employer
We are very proud of our accreditation in 2018 as a Living Wage Foundation Employer. - one of first hotels in Scotland to achieve this.
We started paying the Real Living Wage in 2017 (accredited in 2018) and already we have seen improved staff retention, a huge challenge for any seasonal business. We are delighted to have both permanent members of the local community and live-in staff working here.
We'd encourage any employer to consider becoming accredited as a Living Wage employer, it's good for employees, the community, your guests, and therefore your business.
What is THE ScoTTISH REAL Living WaGE?
The Foundation's accreditation guarantees that every employee of the hotel earns a REAL living wage, significantly higher than the government's minimum wage which was confusingly rebranded as the national living wage.
Our current starting wage is £11.90 per hour. We do not charge staff “living in” for uniforms, accommodation, heating, lighting, rates, staff food, TV, WiFi.
We also make every effort to ensure that our contractors also pay their staff fairly.
The figure for the Living Wage is independently calculated using detailed research on what is needed to cover the basic cost of living in the UK. It is quite different from the government's 'national living wage'.
LIVING HOURS
At Eddrachilles we do not yet have full accreditation for Living Hours which presents particular challenges for a seasonal service business. However, we do always contract employees with minimum hours clearly agreed. We do not offer zero hours contracts unless this is specifically what an employee wants and the role can be operated on this flexible basis. All team members can suggest changes to rotas and are encouraged to participate in the process of compiling the rolling fortnightly rota. Our 2023 team so far includes people with childcare responsibilities or eldercare, those with student dependents and those who like regularly to consolidate days off for mini breaks abroad.
TIps for our STAFF
On tips, Eddrachilles Hotel operates a transparent tronc system. Each employee hands in tips received and these are paid into a bank account. Each employee can view the balance at anytime.
Every two weeks, in line with payroll, the amount in the account is divided among the employees - and employees only, not the owners - in proportion to the hours they have worked in the hotel during that period. Payment is made every four weeks through payroll. If an employee leaves before payday the amount owed on their last day of employment is paid. All employees do, as they are required to by law, pay tax on these payments through the payroll but this is better than HMRC making a "calculation" of undeclared income on them as hospitality worker.