press clippings
Tuesday, 10 Apr 2007
hotel drama's work to rule crisis
CCW's Donna Reynolds writes for the Scotsman
The catch-line for the BBC’s television drama, ‘Hotel Babylon’, is “the hotel with no reservations”, and this certainly seems to be true as the highly-strung and highly-sexed characters lose their cool – and their clothes – with unhealthily regularity. So it came as somewhat of a surprise in a recent episode that the employees remained clothed long enough to “work-to-rule” when head office cancelled the annual staff party without notice or discussion.
When employees opt to “work-to-rule” or “go-slow”, they essentially perform only their specific contractual duties, often at a slow and painstaking pace, and follow long-ignored work rules. From the employees’ perspective, the argument is that since they are continuing to perform their tasks and duties under the contract of employment there can be no breach of contract. Much like the (ill-informed) sentiment around Hotel Babylon, employees believe they are ‘untouchable’ and their employer is left powerless to retaliate.