Dear Terminal City Club Members,
It has been a couple of weeks since our temporary closure began, and although there has been no change in our opening status, I did want to reach out to everyone simply to keep you informed of what’s happening behind the scenes.
When it became apparent that we would need to close the facility, staff worked very hard to transition quickly, and within 48 hours, reduced as many non-fixed costs as possible. Currently, the front desk has been closed and the number of staff in the club has been reduced to under seven per day, who are mostly part-time maintenance and key management team members. Their primary purpose is to ensure that our facility remains safe and clean for the time-being, and ready to re-open whenever that is deemed appropriate.
All businesses are facing extraordinary challenges right now, and TCC is no exception. Our Board of Directors and executive have been meeting regularly as new government announcements are made, trying to ensure that we do the best we can for our approximately 175 hourly and salaried staff, as well as for our 2,000 members. Our primary focus is taking care of the staff and the long-term viability of your Club. The Board has struck emergency sub-committees to ensure that we stay informed on updates and issues that affect staffing, finances, and membership.
I have had several questions from members on what the Club is doing to support staff at this time. While our policies continue to evolve (as do the requirements and resources being made available by provincial and federal governments), here are the basics:
- 100% of funds that have been contributed to date to the TCC Club/Pub Fund, were distributed to staff on March 24. (These Funds are normally paid out in November and in the Club Fund case, come from a small portion of the Service Charge).
- Health benefit plans for staff are continuing to be paid during the closure.
- All outstanding staff vacation days and other “in lieu” days are being scheduled and paid out now. This allows the Club to keep putting money in the hands of as many employees as possible, whether they chose to spend it now or save it for whenever they actually take their vacation time (which may be rescheduled in the future as unpaid leave).
- We are doing our best to connect with staff via payroll App every few days. We are also sharing information about the federal and provincial economic programs that can help them through this time.
- We are currently doing whatever we can to avoid or delay invoking temporary layoffs for our staff. Under current BC regulations, a temporary layoff may only be extended for 13 weeks, after which the employer must terminate and pay severance. This is undesirable for both the club and our employees.
We have also fielded questions from members with respect to member dues and other costs during the closure. Here’s what I can tell you today:
- Minimum food spend will not apply during the closure.
- The board is evaluating a variety of scenarios to determine what TCC can do to help reduce the burden on members, while still ensuring that the club does not default on fixed payments for critical services such as debt payments, utilities, property tax, health benefits, insurance, security, etc… more to come from the Board on this in the near future.
At this time, I would like to extend my thanks for the patience and understanding that has been demonstrated by so many of our members. This is a very difficult time for everyone – individuals and families; employers and employees; young and old. TCC is a 127 year-old organization, we are committed to doing the best we can for our members and staff, based on the most current information at any given time. We will stay in touch and keep you informed of any updates or changes.
In the meantime, I sincerely hope that you and your family, friends, and colleagues stay safe and healthy. From all of the staff at TCC, we very much look forward to seeing you back in the Club soon.
Warm regards, Peter Jackman General Manager [email protected]
