Travel Lodge have been paying indirectly their workers well below the national minimum wage. This is something that really angers me and make me very embarrassed of this country. Hotel room housekeepers are expected to clean each room in 15 mins or they miss out on getting the the £6.31 per hour they legally are entitled to. 15 mins per room is to say the least impossible. 30 mins is difficult.
My wife also works for the Company "travel lodge" through the agency ISS.
And yes they pay below national minimum wage. the minimum wage is now being £6.31 as of October this year. According to http://acas.org.uk cleaners are not exempt from the National Minimum Wage.
The way travel lodge get around the law is by out sourcing to ISS. The way ISS get around the law is to, write a "contract" stating the worker is paid national minimum wage but on 0 hours contract.
Now when a worker does their shift, they will get paid per room at a very low rate with the target of 15 mins per room. So if you worked for 4 hours but only cleaned 8 rooms (which is a realistic target) you will only get paid for he target time 8 rooms x 15 mins = 2 hours. You can even have a situation where you need to wait around for late checkouts to leave to clean the last room /few rooms.
Of cause it's illegal, but who will hold them to account? They can't go to a tribunal or do an ET1 form as they would not fit the criteria, citizens advice are powerless, and although technically a criminal offense the police would not take any action.
It leaves the 0 hours worker pretty stuffed. They can complain (likely fruitless) or go to a solicitor and pay him for 1 hours work at £60 (30 travel lodge / ISS hours) and try to get what is owed . But they are do not have contracted hours. A worker who complains will likely have the 0 hour contract fulfilled and not work in the future.
I have currently started self employment and asked my wife to work extra to bridge the gap until my business is holding it's own. But after 4 weeks of employment at approx 20 hours a week. My wife has earned under £200 before deductions. Job-seekers allowance is £71 afaik. ( the minimum the government considers you can survive on).
Anyway I am currently looking at the payslip vs the hours worked and we will be taking some kind of action.
I wrote this post to give some information to the poor people that find themselves also exploited by this system. I for one will NEVER EVER use Travel Lodge again and neither will any of my family.
If you find yourself in this situation I suggest contacting you local MP. You can find there details and email address here. http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/
Enter your post code of your home address.
CONTACT THEM! And tell them the situation.
Also use the http://acas.org.uk website for free and correct advice.
Or call the number below.
Helpline number: 08457 47 47 47
Monday-Friday: 8am-8pm and Saturday 9am-1pm
Interesting link below.
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1873
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If any hexus members know of any genuine work from home jobs, I would love to hear from you guys.


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