Mee (second from left) and Tapken (third from left) were speaking at ATM. Mee (second from left) and Tapken (third from left) were speaking at ATM.

Jumeirah employees on voluntary unpaid leave have saved the company close to AED 10 million (US $2.7 million) during Q1 this year, the Group’s HR boss has revealed.

Speaking during a Catererglobal.com-sponsored seminar at Arabian Travel Market today, Jumeirah group director of HR – resourcing and transformation Matthew Mee said: “It’s an ongoing process, so in Q1 we saved close to AED 10 million ($2.7 million).

“It’s amazing the take-up when you go to colleagues and ask them ‘are you interested in taking time off to help the company’ – not a forced process but a voluntary process – but people have done that, and so some people have taken leave and they’ll be coming back to the business,” he explained.

“I did it myself,” added Mee.

Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts general and regional manager Dubai Thomas Tapken commended Jumeirah for guaranteeing job security.

“In our industries how often do we get to take a break of a month, two months in between jobs; we dream of it, you leave a job today and you have to start somewhere tomorrow so I think what Jumeirah did there was fantastic move,” said Tapken.

However, Tapken added that the biggest saving for all Dubai-based hoteliers at present was in the dramatic reduction in the cost of housing across the emirate.

“The biggest cost component of labour, especially in Dubai, was housing. I am opening up now and I need accommodation for 3000 employees within the next eight months; it’s cut in half, so our budgets are down by 50% in labour costs and we are not touching the salaries, we’ll leave it like it is.

“Benefits and entitlements will remain the same but the housing component came down by 50% – this is for all of us,” said Tapken.

He added that hoteliers should also use this time to renegotiate contracts for employee accommodation, dining and laundry services.

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