Staff exodus in hotels

Faroese unemployment figures are at a record low, leaving many industries hampered by severe staff shortage.

One of these is the hotel industry. But the hotel staff shortage may not be solely due to a lack of workforce.

According to a hotel worker, who wishes to remain anonymous, staff are leaving their jobs because “work and contract conditions in the hotel industry are so horrendous that it’s bordering on being illegal”.

No contracts

Faroese law dictates that workers are entitled to a letter of appointment and a job description.

But many hotel workers do not receive these documents, leaving them “totally in the dark about their rights in the workplace”, according to the anonymous source.

The lack of clarity regarding work tasks for hotel workers is an implicit part of their job, says the source, who has also worked in Danish hotels.

“In Faroese hotels, I was never given a contract to sign. A hotel worker’s tasks can range from being a waiter one day, a receptionist the next day, then a caretaker or a housekeeper. There was a much more clarity in the Danish hotels.

“Without a contract, you have no right to say that the stress of working in a massively understaffed hotel is becoming unbearable.”

Help is at hand

In such situations, workers can turn to the Vinnukærunevndin (industry appeals committee), says lawyer Durita Sigmundsdóttir Djurhuus.

“And if you are a member of a trade union, that would be a good place to direct your concerns.”

But hotel workers do not appear to know about these options.

“I am not a member of any trade union because I don’t know which trade union represents me," says the anonymous source..

"Very few of my colleagues are members of trade unions. And you cannot complain to your department head because they are usually in the same hopeless situation as you are.”

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

Translated by prosa.fo.

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