TUI faces backlash over ‘workations’
Travel bosses under fire for working while on holiday as companies blamed for industry-wide chaos
SENIOR executives at a major company blamed for travel chaos were on “workations” in the buildup to the chaos, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.
TUI, the embattled tour operator that has left thousands of people stranded due to cancelled flights, has admitted to allowing members of its head office to work from holiday destinations in order to improve their “worklife balance”.
Andrew Willis, the head of talent acquisition and workforce management, is one such senior employee to have taken advantage of the firm’s “Workwide” scheme, which allows staff to work abroad for up to 30 days a year.
He boasted online about managing his responsibilities from beside the pool in an all-inclusive TUI hotel in Ibiza.
“When I finished my work at 5pm, the sun was still there until 8.30pm, so I had plenty of time to swim and relax. In the evenings I could then switch off wonderfully,” he said.
Another staff member, the business process manager, described the “paradise” of working from Norway and watching the northern lights.
A Uk-based senior product development manager describes working from Gran Canaria: “I had made sure beforehand that the rooms had a good Wi-fi connection and so I could work from my balcony or from the pool bar.”
British Airways, which has cancelled 124 short-haul flights from Heathrow Airport, is another company to have trumpeted its enthusiasm for letting staff work from home in recent months.
The flagship carrier announced last year that it will let its employees split their working lives between the head office and home.
The airline said at the time: “The global pandemic has shown us that many of our colleagues enjoy working remotely and want to continue, and this has accelerated our approach to offering more agile and flexible ways of working.”
BA has shed more than 10,000 jobs in recent years.
Meanwhile, ministers have blamed travel companies for failing to recruit enough staff to cope with the post-pandemic demand for holidays.
More than 150 UK flights were cancelled yesterday, compounding the scenes of half-term chaos and distress at airports.
Travel giant TUI was responsible for axing dozens of those flights.
There is escalating scrutiny of large companies and public bodies whose staff remain working from home months after the pandemic ended.
Jacob Rees-mogg, the minister for government efficiency, is leading a drive to get Whitehall civil servants back to their desks.
TUI’S Workwide scheme was launched in August 2021. Since then, staff have spent a total of 4,500 days working abroad.
The company said the scheme applies only to non-operational, office-based roles.
It emerged yesterday that TUI is continuing to offer cut-price holiday deals for this month, despite cancelling thousands of flights because it doesn’t have the staff to crew them, drawing accusations of profiteering.
A TUI spokesman said: “We’re proud of the flexible ways of working we offer our colleagues who work in non-operational, office based roles.
“We’ve always had a culture of trust with our colleagues and have offered this style of work for a number of years, and long before the work from home trend after the pandemic.
He added: “The TUI Workwide scheme is not open to staff who work in fixed locations, such as pilots, cabin crew, retail and those working in operational aviation roles, like in our operations control centre where this is manned 24/7 from an office location.
“We believe this balance is important for understanding the nature of our global travel business alongside having a fulfilling career and improving overall personal well-being.”
British Airways did not respond to a request to comment.