THE TSSA trade union has declared the closure of 89 shops by Hays Travel is “a sad but inevitable move”, while laying the blame at the door of the UK Government.
The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association declared: “It is unclear how many of the 388 jobs at risk will be able to transfer to home working or other alternative roles.”
It added: “The coronavirus has fundamentally changed our way of life and our ability to travel, but the Government has been reckless in its failure to act. We should have had border restrictions and effective test, track and trace implemented last spring when the virus levels could have been controlled.”
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A spokeswoman for Hays Travel noted the company was discussing alternative work options with staff affected by the closures.
Hays Travel said that, in Scotland, one store, in Paisley, was affected by the decision on closures.
The spokeswoman said Hays Travel had about 50 stores in Scotland.
Hays said: "The company had deferred reviewing the performance of the former Thomas Cook shops it acquired in October 2019 to see if business returned in 2021. However the third national lockdown and travel ban leading to major holiday operators suspending flights and holidays, meant the company had to act."
Jonathon Woodall, chief operating officer at Hays, said the company would begin consulting with 388 retail staff on "potential options to reduce the number of redundancies".
He said: "Our first priority is to continue to look after our customers and we offer the highest standards of customer service through our retail, phone and online divisions. We are continuing with our robust two-year business plan and continue to be ready for the bounce back when it comes.”
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Dame Irene Hays, owner and chair of Hays Travel, said: “It was always our intention to review the performance of our shops at the end of the licence period - we had hoped the business would bounce back in January and it has not. We have done everything we could to safeguard jobs and the business thus far, and we have come up with a range of options for those at risk of redundancy to help as many colleagues as we can.”
Hays Travel currently operates 535 shops and employs around 7,700 people
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