Onich Hotel hits back at ‘not true’ allegations
A Fort William hotel says it is ‘shocked’ by allegations that it was throwing out all of its live-in staff from its on-site accommodation on Christmas Day.
The management of the Onich Hotel posted a statement on its Facebook page refuting the claims after the online criticism from one particular individual sparked a torrent of accusations.
The woman posted: ‘Onich Hotel in Fort William has just alerted all staff that they are closing on Christmas Day. We are all currently on the flexible furlough scheme and have just been told that we are all to leave the live-in premises on Christmas day during a no-travel pandemic.
‘The issue is - majority of the staff are not from the UK and this is their accommodation.
They are saying that we aren’t necessarily being sacked but we won’t be on furlough and won’t be allowed to live on site and they do not know when they will reopen. This is diabolical to those who have nowhere to go.’
But the hotel quickly hit back, saying in an official statement: ‘We were shocked to read the allegation on FB about the treatment of foreign staff at our hotel. We are closing the hotel for guests at midnight on the 25th - as per the guidelines - and informed guests that they have to vacate the premises on or before that day.
‘The on-site management briefed the staff on the above and was NOT meant for staff who are on-site. It is worth noting that we did keep foreign staff who had nowhere to go during the last lockdown in March while the hotel was closed and looked after them.
‘We are committed to looking after the well-being of all staff and those who are in accommodation and will continue accommodating them. This has been our position all along well before this post was published.’
When contacted by the Lochaber Times on Friday to verify the situation with regards to the staff, a hotel spokesperson: ‘No, we have not asked the staff to vacate. Not true and we have housed foreign staff and looked after them during the last closure in March. The briefing was about guests having to vacate and it got misconstrued.’