Macdonald Hotels accused of paying staff less than minimum wage

Macdonald Hotels & Resorts has been accused of paying its staff less than the minimum wage and discouraging members from joining trade unions.

Speaking at a Scottish affairs committee in Westminster, Bryan Simpson from Better than Zero, a Scottish Trades Union Congress-supported group campaigning against zero hour contracts and exploitation in the hospitality industry, said employees had been told by one general manager not to join a trade union.

“I’ve seen that across the hospitality sector. Because there’s a fear within senior management in the hospitality industry that trade unions are going to come in and start changing things for the workers, we’re seeing hospitality bosses coming down hard on those, and that is a form of blacklisting,” said Simpson.

A spokesperson for Macdonald Hotels, which has 16 properties in Scotland, said: “We employ over 4,000 people and all are paid at least the minimum wage. We value our employees and if anyone has any specific factual information, we would encourage them to come forward and issues will be rectified accordingly.

"We remain committed to national minimum wage and also national living wage when circumstances allow.”

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