Crerar Hotels has unveiled a range of revamped employee benefits as it claims it wants to set itself apart from others in the hospitality industry.

The range of lifestyle benefits being introduced have been designed to be more attuned to how employees live and work. These include contributions towards driving lessons, a compulsory day off on employees’ birthdays, paid time off for their children’s first day of primary school to ensure parents don’t miss out on milestones, and pet bereavement days to recognise the importance people place on pets as a part of the family.

According to Crerar, the brand new run-down of enhanced employee benefits being offered fit in with the realities of life outside of work and are aimed at attracting a committed workforce looking to forge a career with Crerar Hotels.

Chris Wayne-Wills, CEO at Crerar Hotels, explained that the group is coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic in a relatively fortunate position regarding its ability to invest in attracting and retaining talent, and that it planned meticulously for the impact Brexit was set to have on the industry’s workforce to be ahead of the game.

“There’s no doubt that the hospitality industry is in crisis when it comes to availability of skills – a crisis we have all met far sooner than expected due to the double impact of the pandemic and the fall-out of Brexit. In response, we’ve accelerated our plans that are focused on not only becoming an employer of choice within the Scottish hospitality industry, but to become a first-choice employer regardless of sector,” he said.

Wayne-Wills added that as a privately-owned company, it is committing more than £1 million to its people development plans at a time like this, as it believes there is nothing more valuable than its staff.