Headland hotel says lockdown easing halved redundancy risk

The owners of the Headland hotel in Cornwall have said the government's easing of lockdown restrictions has been an "urgently needed lifeline" and will help them retain staff.

John and Carolyn Armstrong, who have owned the five-AA-star, 95-bedroom hotel for 42 years, revealed last month that they had started asking for voluntary redundancies and approximately 80 jobs were at risk in total.

They have since said the reopening of the hotel over the weekend has reduced planned levels of redundancy, however approximately 40 jobs could still be at risk. However as the property is operating a ‘bubble' system for its kitchen teams, it is looking to recruit additional chefs and kitchen assistants along with a new kitchen administrator.

"It's been a long and extremely challenging period but we can now start to look forward to getting back to some form of normality," said owner Carolyn Armstrong.

"This is extremely welcome news for many people and we remain optimistic staffing levels will continue to increase as the year progresses."

The Headland's self-catering cottages and Deck restaurant opened on Saturday, and from Thursday the main hotel and Samphire restaurant will also be able to open to residents, with reduced capacity and additional hygiene and social distancing precautions in place.