Hotel fires staff during crisis alleging ‘poor performance’

A LUXURY spa that once played host to the Duchess of Sussex is embroiled in a dispute with dozens of staff sacked for “poor performance”.

The Soho Farmhouse rural retreat in Oxfordshire has had to close due to the coronavirus outbreak, but insisted that the dismissal of about 30 employees was not to cut costs.

Meghan Markle reportedly spent a weekend there with friends before her marriage to Prince Harry in 2018.

Yesterday, former workers criticised the manner of their dismissal, some claiming they were fired in a video call on the Whatsapp messaging service.

“They dismissed me for having a bad performance – lower than the average,” Areti Chatzopoulou, 42, a chef, told the Oxford Mail.

“They also said I had a low attendance. I only missed one day, and was never late. I never had any complaints from managers or received a warning.”

It is understood the dismissals followed a review process that took place as the company grappled with the financial impact of the shutdown.

The hospitality industry has been ravaged by the outbreak, with staff at Soho Farmhouse said to be among those placed on the Government’s furlough scheme. But the hotel claimed those sacked were dismissed for legitimate, performance-related reasons.

The poor performance dismissals were said to represent only a small proportion of the overall workforce.

‘I only missed one day, was never late, and never had a complaint from managers or received a warning’

Jack Warhurst, a 19-year-old who delivered food to cabins on the farm, insisted he was aware of no apparent problems with his work. “I had no disciplinary issues, and had done nothing wrong,” he told the Oxford Mail. “I was told it was based on a range of factors.”

A spokesman for Soho Farmhouse said: “We took the decision to implement a small reduction in workforce in early March as part of a performance review process that was already under way. That undoubtedly became more pressing in the current crisis.”