After the Hotel Formentor was acquired at the end of 2020, staff were placed on an ERTE (furlough) scheme for the period of redevelopment, which ended up involving total demolition and reconstruction. The company, Inmobiliaria Formentor, made a promise to employees that once the work was completed, they would be employed at the new Four Seasons hotel.
There were some 160 employees, of which around sixty now remain. There were voluntary redundancies, but there have also been employee relations issues. At least four people who worked at the hotel have filed lawsuits and it is said that more are being prepared.
It would appear that these issues largely have to do with reallocation of tasks - working in the beach bars/restaurants rather than in the hotel itself. These bars remained open while the hotel was under redevelopment, so staff were assigned to work there on what they believed would be a temporary basis.
Last year, after the hotel did finally reopen but was operating at 50% capacity, staff who had been reallocated say they trusted the word of the owners that work in the beach bars would still only be temporary. However, when staff started to be called back for this season, and with the hotel now fully operational, they were again assigned to the beach bars. "Working at a beach bar isn't the same as working at a five-star hotel; we feel undervalued" says one. There are employees with getting on for 40 years' experience at the Hotel Formentor.
For employees who did return to the hotel last year, issues arose when they demanded that working conditions prior to the sale, primarily shifts and hours, should be respected. As they felt these weren't being respected and that acquired rights were being denied, lawsuits were filed against Emin Capital (which acquired the hotel from the Barceló Group) and against Four Seasons, the hotel operator.
Feeling they have been deceived, one says: "If our profile doesn't fit the position, some of us are willing to negotiate. They promised training, and nothing has been done for us, but the new staff are being trained."
The hotel claims to have no record of any lawsuits or complaints from its employees. Regarding the placement of older employees in the beach bars, it states: "These restaurants are not managed by us, and we are unaware of the staff turnover between the beach restaurants." Emin Capital has meanwhile declined to comment.
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