“Everything was destroyed in a few months.” This is the conclusion reached by some former employees of the Beau-Rivage hotel in Neuchâtel. Management has deteriorated since the takeover of this emblematic five-star establishment by a Singaporean company in November 2021. Since this change, around twenty employees out of a workforce of around 80 employees have left their posts, either voluntarily or dismissal, either because they are on sick leave, for moral exhaustion for some of them. Some dismissals were pronounced without notice, according to the testimonies that we collected.
Management declines to comment.
Contacted by our editorial staff, the management of the Beau-Rivage declared “not wanting to comment on information which concerns employees still under contract with the hotel for the most part or who report to the former management”. For the current director, Delfim Santos, in office for two months, “the Beau-Rivage is doing well”. He says he wants to “do everything to keep it that way”.
Several testimonies gathered by our editorial staff, however, report a management without humanity, where humiliation in public, in front of other employees, is commonplace. “We were yelled at in front of everyone for minor errors”, testifies a person to describe the working atmosphere. Any purchase of food, beverages or supplies had to be listed in a file, for example, which had to be validated by management. If this was not the case, the employee was brought to order. But management was not always available to sign the necessary paperwork, according to reports, and without purchases the restaurant might run out of food.
Suspicions of irregularities in the kitchens
Some former collaborators also mentioned, in their testimony, refrigerated vans that went to buy goods in France without declaring them. According to them, three employees would moonlight in the kitchens. The management is accused of knowing nothing regarding the hotel industry and of totally disrespecting its employees. A former collaborator speaks of “unhealthy pressure” exerted by the leaders. Some former employees are currently in conflict with management, notably through appeals over their dismissal.
Unia asked for a collective dismissal
Others pushed the door of the unions. This is the case of the six employees of the wellness and spa area of the Beau-Rivage hotel who were made redundant in May and who approached Unia. For union secretary Derya Dursun, who is working on this file, it is a collective dismissal. To meet this criterion, 10% of a sector or department must be thanked. “In this case, it is 100% of the workforce,” explains Derya Dursun. The union criticizes the management for not having consulted the employees before setting up a new therapeutic project with masseuses from Asia.
At first, the management also did not respect the notice period for former Spa auxiliaries. The union finally obtained the payment of the required wages. These employees are indeed covered by the CCNT, the National Collective Labor Agreement which governs the hotel and catering sector.
