Staff at Oxfordshire hotel are made redundant before Christmas as bosses agree private Government contract to take in asylum seekers and cancels all reservations and weddings
- Whately Hall Hotel in Banbury, Oxfordshire, dismissed 20 of its employees
- Staff said they were sacked on November 25 without pay, despite reassurances
- It came as the hotel accepted a Home Office contract to house refugee orphans
- After a protest, the hotel has agreed to pay November’s wages and redundancies
A furore has surrounded a prestigious country hotel which initially dismissed around 20 employees on the same day they prepared to welcome orphaned child refugees as part of a deal with the Home Office.
Whateley Hall Hotel in Banbury, Oxfordshire, has not been profitable for years due to Covid and the loss of a major contract, its owner Ravi Ruparelia told local media.
Head chef Jordan Blencowe, who had worked at the hotel for 12 years after qualifying in college and even met his wife there, said he was assured in a meeting on November 24 that his team’s jobs were safe.
But the following day, after preparing the kitchen for the hotel’s new arrivals, Mr Blencowe says he and his staff were dismissed without November’s pay or an offer of redundancy.
Head chef Jordan Blencowe (centre) and other staff at Whately Hall hotel were sacked before Christmas as the hotel agreed a private Government contract to house asylum seekers
Chef Jordan Blencowe described Whately Hall as ‘a business that I fell in love with’
Mr Blencowe described Whately Hall as ‘a business that I fell in love with’.
He said: ‘There was no consideration or care for how families were going to pay their mortgages, rents, food or bills.
‘We were assured that we would receive our wages for the month of November and with no warning was told no more money will be paid out.’
Other hotels have notably refused Home Office contracts worth £1million to house refugees.
After a public protest by staff outside the hall last week and intercession from Banbury MP Victoria Prentis, Whately Hall hotel’s owner has now agreed to pay departing staff wages and redundancy payouts, the Banbury Guardian reports.
‘We have taken out a loan so the staff get their redundancy, holiday and notice pay monies as soon as possible. In any normal scenario this would be a month after,’ said Mr Ruparelia today.
‘This is at huge personal expense – circa £100k – and contrary to the narrative this would not come from the tax payer as we are giving this money to the staff with no condition to pay it back. This would mean they should not apply to the redundancy service as they would then get paid twice,’ he said.
The 69-bedroom Whately Hall Hotel dates to 1677 and has a long history as an inn, as well as a shelter for Catholic priests with sec
The 69-bedroom hotel proprieter also appealed to local community in Banbury for help providing clothing and other necessities for the children, who are aged between four and 17.
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘The number of people arriving in the UK who require accommodation has reached record levels and has put our asylum system under incredible strain.
‘The use of hotels to house asylum seekers is unacceptable – there are currently more than 37,000 asylum seekers in hotels costing the UK taxpayer £5.6 million a day.
‘The use of hotels is a temporary solution and we are working hard with local authorities to find appropriate accommodation.
‘Hotels are a short-term solution to the global migration crisis and we are working hard to find appropriate dispersed accommodation for migrants, asylum seekers and Afghan refugees as soon as possible. We would urge local authorities to do all they can to help house people permanently.’
Earlier this month, a local council complained after learning 80 migrants were moving to a seaside hotel in its borough – giving its officials just 15 hours’ notice.
In a strongly worded email, the housing chief in Morecambe, Lancashire, warned the Home Office that support services were ‘already stretched’ due to two other hotels being used to house 221 asylum seekers.
Asylum bosses provoked anger with plans to move 80 migrants to a seaside hotel – giving local officials just 15 hours’ notice. Migrants are seen arriving in Dover last month
The council official warned of ‘ongoing, unresolved safety and cohesion issues’ and said further arrivals could cause ‘conflict’ within the area.
The proposals were revealed to town hall chiefs at 4pm on Friday, December 2, and the local MP at 7am the following day – with the migrants due to arrive from 9am.
In an email on Friday, December 2, Jo Wilkinson, head of housing at Lancaster City Council, complained at having ‘not received at least 24 hours’ notice’.
Miss Wilkinson warned: ‘Community cohesion has become a significant risk in the district as a direct result of the utilisation of two contingency hotels.’
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said last month: ‘Hotel Britain must end, and be replaced with simple, functional accommodation that does not create an additional pull factor.’
His party, and particularly Home Secretary Suella Braverman, have come under fire in recent weeks for their handling of the influx of migrants.
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