Illegal working practices and unsafe for hotel guests - Receptionist Quarter Employee Review

1.0
28 Jun 2017
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Pros

The people working in front of house and back of house roles are all lovely, and most of the managers are good people, but they are all being abused by a head office and HR department that has no concern for their welfare or the law.

Cons

In my role as a hotel receptionist: - They illegally do not give any of their front of house staff a rest break despite working 8 hour shifts. - They illegally make all of their hotel receptionists work late shifts until 10pm and then start the next morning at 7am. This is 2 hours less than the legally required 11 hours of between shifts. - They illegally pay minimum wage to all front of house staff and state in their contracts that any overtime will not be paid. They do not have any mechanism to allow you to tell them that you have had to work overtime, but frequently as a receptionist shifts are so busy that it is impossible to leave on time. This means that they are not paying the legal minimum wage. - Before 9am and after 5pm they leave one receptionist as the only staff in an entire hotel with 60 rooms. The receptionist then has to deal with all check-ins, complaints (of which there are many), maintenance issues, answer all emails and incoming phone calls and complete a long log of administrative tasks. If you do not complete all of these tasks or fail to answer a phone call your monthly pay will be less. There is no fire safety protocol and all staff are told to turn the fire alarm off without evacuating the building. Despite complaining that these working conditions were unsafe on several occasions (and after several burglaries due to lack of security) no changes were made during my 7 months working there. When I complained about the lack of rest breaks the HR Assistant told me that I had signed away my rights to breaks during and between shifts in my contract. I later checked with a lawyer and this is totally illegal. When I started a formal grievance against the company they began offering me rest breaks but none of the other receptionists in the hope that that would shut me up! They have made no changes to their rota system that requires regular late finished and early starts, as it would cost them a little bit more to hire a few more members of staff. I have now handed in my notice and they have offered to pay me for the full period as long as I don't return to the premises, as they are scared I will tell other employees that how they treat them is illegal.

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Quarter Response
8y
I would like to address a couple of concerns raised: We are a very open company and are more than willing to make changes for the benefit of our teams, but we do need to consider what the majority needs. The working practices at Quarter are not in contravention of the law. As a hospitality organisation, we have genuine need to staff our units 24 hours a day. As such, a number of our workforce work to a shift and rota system. These rotas are made by the Assistant Manager in each unit and are designed to be fair and reflect a pattern that the teams prefer. All employees are free to make requests for the rota – and do so regularly. We’ve asked existing employees and they would prefer our systems remained this way as it allows for greater flexibility than some organisations. All employees receive adequate rest over a working week and a break during each shift – though this may not be at the same time each day as some days are busier than others. As Quarter has a policy of promoting from within wherever possible, our Assistant Managers and Managers have all worked to this system and are, therefore, aware of the needs of the teams. Our Fire Safety practices are inspected annually by the Fire Service. We always listen to advice from the Fire Service and ensure that everything that can be done to provide a safe working environment for our teams, and a safe building for our guests, is done. Fire training is refreshed with all employees on an annual basis. All employees receive a one month and three month review when they start – so any concerns can be discussed at those stages. They then receive an annual appraisal to discuss their development and will have at least one 1-2-1 meeting with their line manager on a monthly basis. All concerns are treated fairly and seriously.

Explore other reviews about Quarter

4.0
20 Feb 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The base pay is manageable for living in Bristol but not comfortable.

Cons

Not a graduate scheme for anybody with significant experience in this field

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Quarter Response
3mo
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and feedback about our Hospitality and Events Management Graduate Scheme. We appreciate you highlighting your experience and suggestions. Our Graduate Scheme is designed to give future leaders a broad, hands-on understanding of a hospitality and events business from hotels and restaurants to property management, our co-working space, and event planning. We believe that the best managers are formed from having worked out front in our venues, on the ground side-by-side with the team and our customers. Our graduates who roll up their sleeves and muck in with our teams tend to see the best success and enjoyment on the scheme, becoming empathetic managers down the line with a well-rounded knowledge of day-to-day life in our venues – whether they go on to hotel or restaurant management, head office roles, or events management positions. Those with hospitality experience (and those without!) are welcome to apply for this graduate scheme. Those with experience tend to find they enjoy the ‘known’ aspect of their day-to-day work in the venues, combined with the learning and development aspect of working through their graduate training plan, building skills and knowledge in the area of core business functions - from operations, HR, and marketing to budgeting, forecasting, and team leadership. Regarding your suggestion about increased choice in the rotational aspects of the programme, we completely understand the desire for flexibility. We have 5 graduates on the scheme at any one time, each working their respective rotations in separate areas, rotating to their new spots on the same date. As such, graduates follow a set pattern of rotations to ensure fairness and consistency across each intake. Because we have a small cohort on the scheme, allowing individual choice would unfortunately mean that some participants could miss out on essential placements. This structure ensures that everyone experiences the same opportunities and develops a well-rounded skill set. We really appreciate your perspective and are glad you shared your thoughts with us - it helps us continue to make the programme as rewarding and effective as possible for future cohorts. As you appear to be a current member of staff, you’re more than welcome to reach out to hr@qrter.com, give us a ring or pop into the office to chat if you would like to discuss your thoughts further.
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