Whitbread announces voluntary pay cut for senior staff

Whitbread has announced that its senior leadership team has committed to a voluntary pay cut in its efforts to shore up cash against the ongoing pandemic.

Whitbread’s CEO, Alison Brittain, and its executive directors, Nicholas Cadbury and Louise Smalley, have received board approval for a voluntary 30% temporary base pay reduction, while the chairman, non-executive board directors and executive committee will see their base pay reduced by 20%.

These senior staff have also elected to not accept cash bonuses accrued for the 2019/2020 financial year, and instead defer them into shares.

All other Whitbread staff are currently receiving full pay, however, with Whitbread using the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to ensure all furloughed staff receive 100% of their annual salary.

In its latest update, the parent group of Premier Inn also revealed there will be no annual pay rises for executive directors, senior team or salaried staff. 

Its 32,000 hourly paid team members will continue to receive pay rises in line with the April National Minimum Wage increases, however.

The hotel group said it “continues to play its part in the fight against Covid-19 and is committed to supporting the key worker agenda, as well as of course its 35,000 strong team, who remain central to all decision-making.”

As well as its changes to pay, the group also revealed it has made 37 hotels (representing approximately 5,000 rooms), available exclusively to key workers including NHS staff. 

All team members who have volunteered to work at these open hotels are receiving increased rates of pay.

Whitbread also announced a new strategic partnership with food charity FareShare and, following the closure of its on-site restaurants amid the lockdown, has donated enough food to make almost 65,000 meals. 

The food will be distributed through FareShare’s national network of charities and community groups, ensuring schools, foodbanks, care homes and homeless shelters all benefit from the meals amid the ongoing crisis.

Whitbread is also supporting supermarkets by freeing up its logistics network to help transport food to where it’s needed most.