he hospitality sector is not renowned for its pay and conditions however, as a heavily people-focused organisation, SQ is at the forefront of changing such long-held perceptions. The organisation is a Living Wage Foundation UK (LWF) accredited employer, offering industry-leading pay comfortably above LWF’s £10.90 per hour Living Wage. In addition, it has been recognised by the LWF as UK’s first Living Pension employer in the hospitality sector, ensuring that all members of staff are contributing at least 12% of their salary towards their pension with 7.5% of the total coming from the employer - 4.5% more than the required minimum.

The benefits offered by SQ are not limited to pay and pension alone, high priority is also placed on improving numerous opportunities and reward schemes to benefit employees at work as well as outside the office. This includes aspects such as discounted rates on hotels within UK and overseas, access to an employee assistance programme, Bike2Work scheme, complimentary gym membership of SQ’s on-site gym and discount cards providing staff discount on food and beverage across all SQ outlets.

During the pandemic, SQ was keen to give back to the hospitality industry and its dedicated employees who had their livelihoods disrupted by the impact of Covid-19. The company introduced a two night ‘Scotcation’ deal at its hotel in June 2021, with 10% of the revenue generated going directly to hotel employees as a gratuity. An additional 10% was donated to the Hospitality Industry Trust (HIT) Scotland’s ‘Emerging Talent of The Industry’ scholarship, which encourages the development of anyone working or studying in the hospitality sector. 

SQ’s desire to support and give back to the community during Covid -19 also resulted in the organisation accommodating more than 500 clinical and frontline workers at its Ten Hill Place Hotel.  In total it provided 2,137 free room nights to hospital staff at a business cost of more than £100,000.

Post pandemic, a new initiative entitled ‘SQ Cares’ was introduced to focus on the welfare and wellbeing of staff and those in the local area. The programme is run by representatives across all departments of the business who meet monthly to discuss six key areas – charity, community, wellbeing, green, inclusion and social - with the team making pledges under each heading. Introduction of the programme has resulted in celebrating International Employee Appreciation Day where staff were treated to lunch, reintroduction of Employee of the Month and giving back to the community through partnerships, such as that established with Cyrenians Farm in Kirknewton in June 2023.

Cyrenians is home to a community for young people aged 16-25 years, and the surrounding working farm is a social enterprise providing opportunities for residents, volunteers, and visitors to grow vegetables and develop life skills while being in a trusting and nurturing community. Cyrenians now recycles coffee grinds from SQ’s Cafe 1505 using the organic waste in its compost at the farm.

A business is all about its people and making sure that they are happy and looked after. SQ strives to do just that, but beyond improving the conditions and wellbeing of its dedicated workforce and providing world class hospitality, there’s a higher purpose to what SQ does. It also believes that everyone should be entitled to the very best surgery available to them, that’s why its profits go towards the advancement of surgery and the improvement of patient outcomes worldwide.

To find out more about Surgeons Quarter, its event spaces and hotel accommodation please visit SurgeonsQuarter.com