3,000 Hays Travel staff return to work
Hays Travel bosses John and Irene Hays have confirmed that 3,000 staff have returned to work as they report a surge in the numbers of people booking a winter break.
In March, 880 staff at the Sunderland based travel firm had their working hours axed to zero, while all others were cut by half for a month as the company worked to overcome the devastating consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.
The cuts came just months after the firm took on hundreds of former Thomas Cook staff in who lost their jobs when the firm collapsed in 2019.
But as lockdown restrictions were imposed around the world, grounding commercial flights, the company said it was forced to take the drastic measures as it worked to deal with the drop in bookings and the fall out from cancellations as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
But following the latest Government advice which has so far relaxed some restrictions as well as offering a longer-term plan to reopen the hospitality sector come July, Hays Travel has confirmed 3,000 staff have now returned to work. A statement on the Hays Travel Facebook page read: “We are delighted to say that we now have about 3,000 of our staff working from home dealing with your queries.
“We're still extremely busy, but you can avoid delays if you email your local branch and they will get back to you.
“In the meantime, thank you for all your lovely messages – it's appreciated.”
Irene Hays said that customers booking holidays will be protected by a full moneyback guarantee if they decide to cancel their break up to six weeks before.
In a video message to customers, Mrs Hays said: “We have invited all of our staff to come back to work and we are delighted to say that we now have about 3,000 people back answering calls and dealing with issues for you.
“We are also seeing quite a bit of interest for holidays later in the year.”
Mr Hays added: “I think people want something to look forward to so demand for winter holidays is really strong for 2020/2021.
“What is going down fantastically well is our Hays Travel Peace Of Mind guarantee where you can cancel for whatever reason you like up to six weeks beforehand and get your money back if you don’t want to go.”