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News

Metro Hotel in Woking turns away military personnel... DISGRACEFUL

19 replies

AtheneNoctua · 04/09/2008 09:19

here news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7596798.stm

I think this is truly shocking and ought to be illegal. My brother has served (in the US Army) twice in Iraq and his British collegues tell him he is lucky that he still has a job when he goes back to the states. By law in the US, a soldier has the right to return to the he had when he left. Apparently there is no such protectiion in the UK. I think this is horrible. These guys put their lives on the line for life as we know and then aren't even given so much as a "thank you". I know not everyone is like this hotel (METRO HOTEL IN WOKING -- did I mention that?) but it really angers me when I read stories like this.

OP posts:

Report

tiredemma · 04/09/2008 09:27

I read this this morning and thought it was shocking.

LynetteScavo · 04/09/2008 09:36

It's very sad. I can only imagine the hotel has experience of groups of young solders on leave getting drunk when staying in the hotel. No excuse though, as young men in any proffesion can behave badly at times.

bossykate · 04/09/2008 09:39

isn't woking near a town with lots of squaddies?

lovemyshoes · 04/09/2008 10:48

Appalling - everyone should e-mail their them disgust.

BashfulSleepyHappy · 04/09/2008 10:52

I live near Woking , and yeah, it's squaddie central around here. We've got Deepcut, Aldershot etc etc. Most of the land around here is military.

There's a great big Holiday Inn in Woking too.... not sure why he didn't go there instead rather then sleep in his car!

AtheneNoctua · 04/09/2008 12:36

Personally, I think anyone who puts his life on the line to fight for my freedom desserves a roudy piss up now and then. That's no excuse for turning him away. Especially when he was clearly not with a big crowd of soldiers.

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lovemyshoes · 04/09/2008 12:36

Maybe the poor lad thought they would have the same attitude.

AtheneNoctua · 04/09/2008 12:38

Maybe he thought to himself "I can sleep on a rock in a war zone standing up. I guess the back looks pretty good."

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PortAndLemon · 04/09/2008 12:52

I can see turning away large groups (plenty of hotels won't take bookings from large single-sex groups anyway, be they military or not) but extending the policy to an individual soldier seems bizarre as well as unreasonable.

Are you talking about reservists in your OP, Athene? In UK law a reservist who is mobilised does have a right to be re-employed by his/her previous civilian employer in the type of job in which he/she was last employed on terms and conditions no less favourable to him/her than previously (or if this is not reasonable and practicable, to be re-employed in the most favourable job and on the most favourable terms and conditions which are reasonable and practicable).

Sidge · 04/09/2008 13:14

What revolting discrimination. How can they get away with that policy of not allowing military personnel in their hotel? Can you imagine the uproar if they said they had a policy not to allow Chinese people, or people over 60, or insurance brokers?

What do they think he's going to do exactly? Leave a few mortars in the sink? Practice firing his rifle from his window?

I hope people boycott that hotel in droves now.

herbietea · 04/09/2008 13:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

AtheneNoctua · 04/09/2008 13:47

I don't know, P&L. I assume they are reservists or they wouldn't have civy jobs to speak of. What you say seems to conflict with what my brother says.

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saltire · 04/09/2008 14:31

Personally, I think all us Forces wives/partners/serving members should go down there.

PortAndLemon · 04/09/2008 14:38

brochure.pdf Here is the official MoD briefing on the subject.

And here is the relevant legislation (the Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act 1985) if you want to read it for yourself.

I have no idea how well it works in practice, but the legal right is definitely there.

PortAndLemon · 04/09/2008 14:41

Arse. First link should be here (space in URL confused MN formatting).

AtheneNoctua · 04/09/2008 16:25

I'm a bit by this part:

You are not obliged to give your returning employee a job if this
can only be done by dismissing another employee who has been
with you for longer and holds no less permanent a job, or? another
returning Reservist, who has been with you longer, also applies for
a job and it is only practicable to reinstate one person.

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saltire · 04/09/2008 16:36

Why was he showing them his iD card anyway? Did they ask for it, or was he showing it hoping for a Forces Discount.

The hotel has been getting "nasty" phone calls

AtheneNoctua · 04/09/2008 17:33

I think the article says they asked for ID.

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policywonk · 04/09/2008 17:35

The hotel have apologised and said it was a mistake, haven't they? It's hardly their official policy. Obviously was very unfortunate and unfair for the man concerned.

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