PACKAGE HOLIDAY ILLNESS CLAIMS PACK

FOREWORDDear partner,

We have been creating special holidays for our customers for over 175 years. At the heart of that business has been the close relationship we’ve established with our many valued hotel partners around the world. To be truly successful, all the parts of our package must come together to create truly memorable holidays for customers. The hotel is the most important piece of that package – and the key to our shared success in the future.

However, we know that our future success is currently under threat. The unprecedented increase in holiday illness claims from UK customers poses a serious challenge to our shared business. It is also at odds with all the many improvements that I know are being made in destination – and which we see in our improving customer satisfaction scores. At the current level, these illness claims are not sustainable for our industry.

It’s clear to me that we must tackle the issue together as partners and we both have a role to play.

We’ve written this guide to help explain some of the reasons why we’ve seen such a big rise in illness claims from the UK. We have set out what we as the tour operator are doing to tackle the problem. That includes the steps we’re taking to defend us all from fraudulent or spurious claims and also to inform the UK government about the damage the issue threatens to do to our industry – and ultimately our customers. This guide also highlights what we need from you to make sure that we’re in the best position to minimise the impact of the rise in illness claims, including your continued commitment to the highest standards in food hygiene and health and safety.

Finally, I want to address one rumour head on. I have seen it written that Thomas Cook is profiting from illness claims. I give you my promise that we will never seek to recover more from you than we’ve paid out in settlement of a claim. Our relationship is vital to our continued success, and I would never allow our business to jeopardise the trust between us.

By working openly and closely together as partners, I am certain that we will be better placed to address this issue, and ultimately help give more customers great holidays for many years to come.

Björne SandströmChief Commercial Officer

SECTION 1BACKGROUND

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This guide will:• Highlight why holiday illness claims have been increasing

at unprecedented levels across the UK market

• Explain how the UK legal system makes it possible for un-reported holiday illness claims to be progressed

• Tell you what the Thomas Cook Group is doing about the issue

• Explain how you can help us reject or defend claims which lack evidence, credibility, or may even be fraudulent

HOLIDAY ILLNESS HAPPENSWe all know that some customers do, unfortunately, get ill on holiday. This can be caused by a variety of factors: different food, too much sun, drinking fizzy drinks or more alcohol than usual. These changes can sometimes result in stomach upsets and feeling unwell.

However, illness is also occasionally the result of poor food and water hygiene practices. We’re totally committed to making sure our customers receive the best possible help from us if they become ill. That means making sure, where possible, that they get the right treatment so that they can continue to enjoy their holiday. If there’s evidence the illness was caused by something the customer ate or drank at your hotel, we need to work together to make sure other customers aren’t affected and deal with any subsequent claim for compensation, in a way that’s fair to the customer and you.

WHAT MAKES THE TOUR OPERATOR RESPONSIBLE FOR CUSTOMER CLAIMS?Under the Package Travel Regulations 1992 (which come from the European Package Travel Directive), package organisers are responsible for the performance of the travel services, which make up the package holiday. UK courts expect that these services shall meet local standards (which for hotels in the EU also means all applicable European legislation), and that food and water (including swimming pool water) provided by the hotel shall not be contaminated.

If a customer falls ill and is able to show that the illness was likely to have been caused by standards not being met or by contamination of food or water provided by the hotel, the customer is entitled to bring a claim against the package organiser and the courts are likely to award the customer compensation. The more evidence you can provide to show that the illness is unlikely to have been the result of actions which the hotel has (or hasn’t) done will increase our chances of successfully defending a claim. Please see sections 3 and 4 of this guide for examples of the sort of evidence we hope that you can provide.

WHY ARE WE SEEING CLAIMS GOING BACK YEARS?Under UK law, customers can bring a claim for illness or injury up to three years after the incident happened (and longer for children), so claims can be brought sometimes years after the customer’s return from holiday. That’s why it is so important that you keep your documents showing that you’ve met these local standards (and any other relevant information) for at least three years.

THE UK CLAIMS CULTURE - ‘NO WIN NO FEE’Unfortunately, because of recent changes in the civil justice system in the UK, illness claims have become a lucrative source of work for UK law firms. Changes to the law in 2013 mean that customers no longer have to pay the other side’s costs if they lose a claim. In addition, whilst the new law fixed the amount of costs that can be claimed for the majority of claims, this doesn’t apply to claims arising from incidents outside of the UK. This means that overseas illness claims in the all-inclusive holiday market are now a key focus for claims lawyers and claims companies as an attractive and lucrative source of work. Consequently, such businesses have been actively encouraging customers to make gastric illness claims, sometimes in resort itself.

THE RISE OF UN-REPORTED CLAIMSClaims Management Companies make it sound simple for customers to claim compensation. Their aggressive marketing and advertising on radio, the internet and social media has encouraged some people to submit claims even though they didn’t report being ill during the holiday. We’re also aware of claims being exaggerated and there’s been evidence of representatives of claims management firms encouraging bad practice through local reps or social media activity.

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WHAT THE CLAIMS SAYThere’s a general pattern to the illness claims we receive, with many including some or all of the following points:

• The holidaymaker was on an all inclusive holiday

• The holidaymaker never consumed food or drink outside of the hotel

• If an excursion was booked, no food or drink was consumed

• The illness typically lasted at least four days

• The holidaymaker advised the rep (or hotel)

• It was too expensive to see a doctor (but some medication may have been purchased from a pharmacy)

• Other family members were affected

WHAT THE UK GOVERNMENT’S MINISTRY OF JUSTICE IS SAYING:

We are aware of an increase in Claims

Management Companies (CMC) advertising targeted at individuals who have

been ill on holiday.

The regulator is liaising with ABTA and other industry stakeholders to identify

the most appropriate and effective regulatory action. We are currently

investigating a number of businesses who are trading in holiday sickness

claims without authorisation

WHY THE INFORMATION YOU HAVE IS SO IMPORTANTOur ability to be successful in proving that an illness was unlikely to be caused by poor standards at your hotel depends almost entirely on the information and evidence that you can provide. Therefore, it’s in both our interests to work together on addressing this issue.

We’re working at all levels to improve our systems and our communications to reduce the volume of claims. What we need from you is information about your food and general hygiene systems, staff training, copies of your customer questionnaires, and, where possible, evidence of illnesses and activities participated in by the guests. Accurate and reliable sickness recording is key to helping us try to fight these claims and your co-operation and assistance in helping us do this would be hugely appreciated.

Further details of what we need from you are given later in this leaflet.

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SECTION 2THE STEPS WE’RE TAKING

We’re dealing with the current levels of illness claims by putting into place key measures and practices.

WHAT WE’RE TELLING OUR CUSTOMERSBefore they go and on arrivalWe’ve changed the information that our customers receive both before travel and in destination so there’s more focus on holiday illness and illness-related claims. The basic message is:

• If you become ill while on holiday, you must see a local doctor and report your illness to your rep (if we provide a rep service), via the contact details we’ve provided, or to the hotel guest services

• Our team in resort can put you in touch with a local doctor and if you have any questions or concerns about this you can talk to them

• It’s important you see a doctor to make sure you get the right tests, diagnosis and treatment. You should also see your GP as early as possible when you get home

• If you think your illness was caused by something you ate at your hotel, you’ll need evidence to support this from the doctor you see in resort. If you feel you have reason to make a complaint or claim about an illness, you must be able to show you’ve followed these steps, otherwise it may reduce any rights to claim compensation

These messages are being consistently communicated in:

• our holiday booking conditions

• in an airport hand-out provided to customers on arrival

• in the hotel information folder (see graphic)

Y O U R S A F E T Y & H E A LT H W H I L S T A B R O A D

H O L I D AY I L L N E S S

Holidays are all about new experiences and this may include enjoying the local food. Different food, too much sun, drinking fizzy drinks or more alcohol than you would usually drink at home can sometimes result in stomach upsets and feeling unwell. Here are a few tips on how to prevent illness on holiday:

• Don’t stay in the sun for long periods and always wear a hat and sunscreen.

• Keep hydrated by drinking bottled water, and use this to brush your teeth.

• Wash your hands before eating and after using the toilet and handling money. It’s helpful to carry a hand sanitizer with you.

• Make sure hot food looks thoroughly cooked and is still hot when served.

• Avoid salad as it’s likely to have been washed in tap water.

• Avoid any uncooked food apart from fruits, vegetables or food that can be peeled or shelled.

• If you have a food allergy, ask for information about ingredients before eating, and tell the hotel reception about your allergies when you check in.

• Be aware that alcohol measures abroad may be larger than in the UK. Please drink alcohol in moderation.

If you become ill while on holiday, you must see a local doctor and report your illness to our representative (if we provide a rep service) or via our contact details as shown on your travel documentation. Our staff in resort can put you in touch with a local doctor and if you have any questions or concerns around this you can talk to them. It’s important you see a doctor to make sure you get the right tests, diagnosis and treatment. You should also go and see your GP as early as possible when you get home. If you think your illness was caused by something you ate at your hotel, you’ll need evidence to support this from the doctor you see in resort. If you feel you have reason to make a complaint or claim about a holiday illness you must be able to show you’ve followed these steps.We’re aware that some holidaymakers are being encouraged to put forward fraudulent claims for compensation. We’re committed to the prevention and detection of fraud and work with fraud investigators to protect our customers and to try to keep the cost of our holidays as low as possible. If you’re either approached by someone claiming they can get you compensation, or you have information that will assist us in the detection or prevention of fraudulent claims, you can speak in confidence to our representatives, or contact our Customer Relations team www.thomascook.com/customer-relations

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T R A V E L L I N G W I T H I N F A N T S & C H I L D R E N

INFANT SAFETYSafety standards of babies’ cots abroad may vary from those in the UK. You should ensure that the vertical bars are no more than 10 cm apart and that there is a distance of at least 50 cm between the mattress and the top of the side rail. The mattress should fit snugly into the base of the cot.

If using a highchair, remember that standards differ from country to country so please check that it is sturdy, is equipped with a harness and is free from sharp edges.

CHILD SAFETYPlaygrounds: Make sure you or another adult stays with your children whenever they are using playground equipment, and take care that they are using all equipment as intended and in accordance with any rules of use that are displayed.

Children should never be left unsupervised on balconies, nor should there be any furniture near the balcony wall/railings as these could be easily climbed.

Older children may want to explore the local area or wander around the hotel but they should do this in the company of an adult.

Make sure that your children know their personal information: their name, your name, their age etc. This means that if they do get lost, they can identify themselves to a member of staff or other authority. If you think that your child may not be able to remember this information then an identification bracelet (with your phone number) could be useful. It’s also helpful to get them to remember the name of the hotel that they’re staying in.

Before entering a pool, waterpark or the beach, take the time to read the information board and any other signage available, and make sure that your children understand the dangers too.

CHILDREN SHOULD:- Only jump feet first into water where the depth is known;

- Use slides and flumes as instructed;

- Know where to get help in an emergency.

CHILDREN SHOULD NEVER:- Swim alone;

- Dive into unknown depths of water (if diving is permitted);

- Push or jump onto others.

For more detailed guidance on swimming please refer to the Pools, Beaches and Sun Protection section.

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Y O U R S A F E T Y & H E A LT H W H I L S T A B R O A D

S A F E T Y A T YO U R A C C O M M O D A T I O N

BALCONIES AND GLASS SAFETY MEASURESChildren should never be left unsupervised on balconies, nor should there be any furniture near the balcony wall/railings as these could be easily climbed. Never lean over, sit or climb on the balcony wall/railings and never jump from a balcony or try and climb between balconies, or pass items to someone on another balcony.

During the day when sunlight is bright or at night, glass doors can often appear open. This can lead to accidents. While glass doors like these should be marked appropriately, please do take care when using them.

BATHROOM SAFETYSurfaces may be slippery from condensation and water spray where bath or floor mats aren’t provided. Also, be sure not to use any electrical appliances near water.

LIFT SAFETYChildren should be accompanied by an adult when using a lift. Some hotels have lifts that don’t have internal doors. When using this type of lift stand back from the exposed wall(s). Children should not use these alone and it’s advisable to hold their hands when using them together.

ELECTRICAL SAFETYBefore using any electrical appliance you find in your hotel room, make sure you read the instructions and ensure you use the appliance safely. If you’re travelling with children make sure that they’re also using any electrical appliances correctly.

Relaxing, whether that is on excursions or sitting by the pool, is what holidays are all about. However, it’s important to be sensible and make sure you know how to look after yourself on holiday and to arm yourself with the right information to keep you and your friends and family safe.

Take a good look at the following guidance, as well as any other information that’s given to you or is on display at your hotel. If you’ve any questions, ask your representative or an appropriate member of staff.

YOUR SAFETY AND HEALTH WHILST ABROAD

If you’ve brought your own electrical appliance (e.g. a mobile phone charger or hair straighteners), make sure you use the required adaptor suitable for the local voltage. It’s advisable not to leave any item charging unattended.

FIRE SAFETYFamiliarise yourself with all escape routes, locate the nearest fire exit to your room and identify the method of raising the alarm. You should either read the fire instruction notice displayed in your room or speak to a hotel representative. It’s advisable to walk to the nearest fire exit to your room so that you’re aware of the easiest way to get there and where it leads to.

To prevent a fire, make sure that all smoking materials such as cigarettes, are fully extinguished and that any gas or electrical appliances are being used correctly and are turned off when not in use, and items such as bags or clothing are not placed on cooker tops.

If a fire does occur, make sure to evacuate the room immediately. Close the door behind you, raise the alarm and make your way to an assembly point clear of the building.

If you’re unable to leave your room, close all doors, cover the door seals with wet towels or clothes and shout for help from a window or call reception via the telephone.

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Y O U R S A F E T Y & H E A LT H W H I L S T A B R O A D

H O L I D AY I L L N E S S

Holidays are all about new experiences and this may include enjoying the local food. Different food, too much sun, drinking fizzy drinks or more alcohol than you would usually drink at home can sometimes result in stomach upsets and feeling unwell. Here are a few tips on how to prevent illness on holiday:

• Don’t stay in the sun for long periods and always wear a hat and sunscreen.

• Keep hydrated by drinking bottled water, and use this to brush your teeth.

• Wash your hands before eating and after using the toilet and handling money. It’s helpful to carry a hand sanitizer with you.

• Make sure hot food looks thoroughly cooked and is still hot when served.

• Avoid salad as it’s likely to have been washed in tap water.

• Avoid any uncooked food apart from fruits, vegetables or food that can be peeled or shelled.

• If you have a food allergy, ask for information about ingredients before eating, and tell the hotel reception about your allergies when you check in.

• Be aware that alcohol measures abroad may be larger than in the UK. Please drink alcohol in moderation.

If you become ill while on holiday, you must see a local doctor and report your illness to our representative (if we provide a rep service) or via our contact details as shown on your travel documentation. Our staff in resort can put you in touch with a local doctor and if you have any questions or concerns around this you can talk to them. It’s important you see a doctor to make sure you get the right tests, diagnosis and treatment. You should also go and see your GP as early as possible when you get home. If you think your illness was caused by something you ate at your hotel, you’ll need evidence to support this from the doctor you see in resort. If you feel you have reason to make a complaint or claim about a holiday illness you must be able to show you’ve followed these steps.We’re aware that some holidaymakers are being encouraged to put forward fraudulent claims for compensation. We’re committed to the prevention and detection of fraud and work with fraud investigators to protect our customers and to try to keep the cost of our holidays as low as possible. If you’re either approached by someone claiming they can get you compensation, or you have information that will assist us in the detection or prevention of fraudulent claims, you can speak in confidence to our representatives, or contact our Customer Relations team www.thomascook.com/customer-relations

3

T R A V E L L I N G W I T H I N F A N T S & C H I L D R E N

INFANT SAFETYSafety standards of babies’ cots abroad may vary from those in the UK. You should ensure that the vertical bars are no more than 10 cm apart and that there is a distance of at least 50 cm between the mattress and the top of the side rail. The mattress should fit snugly into the base of the cot.

If using a highchair, remember that standards differ from country to country so please check that it is sturdy, is equipped with a harness and is free from sharp edges.

CHILD SAFETYPlaygrounds: Make sure you or another adult stays with your children whenever they are using playground equipment, and take care that they are using all equipment as intended and in accordance with any rules of use that are displayed.

Children should never be left unsupervised on balconies, nor should there be any furniture near the balcony wall/railings as these could be easily climbed.

Older children may want to explore the local area or wander around the hotel but they should do this in the company of an adult.

Make sure that your children know their personal information: their name, your name, their age etc. This means that if they do get lost, they can identify themselves to a member of staff or other authority. If you think that your child may not be able to remember this information then an identification bracelet (with your phone number) could be useful. It’s also helpful to get them to remember the name of the hotel that they’re staying in.

Before entering a pool, waterpark or the beach, take the time to read the information board and any other signage available, and make sure that your children understand the dangers too.

CHILDREN SHOULD:- Only jump feet first into water where the depth is known;

- Use slides and flumes as instructed;

- Know where to get help in an emergency.

CHILDREN SHOULD NEVER:- Swim alone;

- Dive into unknown depths of water (if diving is permitted);

- Push or jump onto others.

For more detailed guidance on swimming please refer to the Pools, Beaches and Sun Protection section.

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WHAT OUR RESORT TEAMS ARE DOINGWe support our customers in resort and our hotel partners by providing the best in-destination service possible. We have extensive operations across our holiday destinations, and our people are trained and equipped to deal with all types of situations.

We know our staff will be crucial in the way we handle holiday illness, whether that’s supporting our customers who are genuinely ill, or working closely with you to get evidence to defend unconfirmed or fraudulent illness claims.

WE’RE COMMITTED TO:• Training all our in destination services (IDS) teams about holiday illness

• Providing IDS with the information, support, and contacts to work with you and our customers

• Be proactive in investigating and following up on customer illness

• Introduce new processes for our reps to follow around holiday illness, following a successful trial of new initiatives

We’re introducing the following measures into resorts (if they’re not already in place):

WELCOME MEETING WITH CUSTOMERS*

Reps will continue to meet and greet customers at our Tour Operator welcome meetings. This provides opportunities to give customers advice about their safety and wellbeing on holiday, as well as telling customers to report any illness to the Thomas Cook rep.

IMPROVED CUSTOMER CONTACT

DURING THE HOLIDAY*

For those customers who don’t attend welcome meetings, we aim to reach as many as possible either by phone calls or notes under room doors.

Our reps will actively meet and greet customers around the property and have the ability to record electronically the details of conversations, complaints, reasons for any customer cancellations of excursions or events, and any reported illness.

Resort teams are required to follow up with customers daily about any reported illness and make sure the customer has the opportunity to see a doctor, or has obtained appropriate medication.

DEDICATED QUALITY MANAGERS*

Thomas Cook has dedicated in-resort Quality Managers, who work closely with our health and safety team and support hotels in achieving the highest standards of quality.

MORE CONTACT WITH HOTEL

MANAGEMENT AND GUEST SERVICES

Our resort team are tasked with working closely with you and your guest services team. Our aim is to:

• Meet with you regularly to review customer complaints, including illness reports

• Agree how complaints or illness reports will be followed up with customers while they are in resort

• Understand your systems/procedures to record information on customers using their rooms and facilities

REGULAR CUSTOMER FEEDBACK REVIEWS WITH YOUR HOTEL

Our reps will discuss with you the customer feedback we receive through our customer satisfaction questionnaires on a regular basis. We’ll talk to you about any negative feedback from customers to make sure that, where necessary, any problems or concerns are addressed to avoid further issues. If customers are genuinely ill, this also provides an opportunity for customers to inform you.

If, for any reason, you feel you aren’t receiving the level of support we’ve talked about above, please let us know by speaking to your Thomas Cook Destination Manager, Quality Manager or Contracts Manager for help.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM OUR IN DESTINATION SERVICE TEAM:

*Rep service and Quality Managers are not available in all hotels or resorts.

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HOW WE DEAL WITH CUSTOMER COMPLAINTSThomas Cook uses specialist UK law firms Cunningham Lindsey and BLM to help handle customer claims, with close supervision from Thomas Cook. They may contact you on our behalf to gather information to help us defend fraudulent claims. Our processes are as follows:

New claims handling process and fraud screeningWe’ve introduced a robust gastric illness claims strategy, which is designed to identify genuine cases at an early stage and make sure that these are dealt with quickly and fairly. This minimises the cost to you, and builds a robust defence of those claims which do not meet our selection criteria for settlement.

As part of the claims handling process, we’ve introduced new steps to identify suspicious claims by actively screening such cases for fraud. Where fraudulent or suspicious claims are identified, they’ll be dealt with firmly and referred to our solicitors for specialist handling.

We’ll also send all customers making a claim an illness questionnaire asking for detailed information about the nature of their complaint. The questionnaire will make it clear that we are alert to fraud and, where we believe that we have sufficient evidence, we’ll take all necessary and appropriate action against those involved. We require customers to support their claims with evidence, including medical reports.

We’re providing a training programme to the law firms we use to make sure that they understand the issues that we face and that they can effectively implement and follow our strategy.

PUBLIC RELATIONSOur in-house communications team is working with the media and other interested parties to raise awareness of the issue and our increasingly tough response to the problem.

We’ve been working closely with the UK Travel Association ABTA, and other tour operators to make our case to the UK Ministry of Justice for a change to the law. As a result, the Ministry of Justice has consulted on changing two pieces of UK legislation that we believe directly encourage claims companies: the first is on raising the limit of small claims, and the second is extending the fixed recoverable costs scheme to holidays abroad.

We have also raised concerns about the conduct of claims management companies and law firms to a number of regulators, including the Advertising Standards Authority, Information Commissioner’s Office, Claims Management Regulator, Financial Conduct Authority and the Legal Ombudsman.

Our approach to compensationIn the UK, customers are entitled to claim damages for their physical and psychological injuries, as well as financial losses. Customers are also entitled to recover their costs of bringing a claim.

Our approach to managing customer claims is as follows:

• We’ll tell you if we receive a claim from a customer

• We’ll tell you what the claim’s about and what information we need from you, and we’ll use such information or evidence to help manage such claims

• Based on our experience of settling similar claims, we’ll advise of the potential value that the claim could be worth (including legal fees) if the claim is successful. If we tell you this value, it’s not a request for payment and is purely an indication of the potential costs, so that you may be able to inform your insurer

• If it’s necessary to compensate the customer after all other options have been considered, we’ll notify you before such settlement is made

• We’ll never seek to recover more than we’ve paid

SECTION 3HYGIENE, HEALTH & SAFETY: WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU

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We’ve set out below some of the measures that we’d like you to take to help us prevent and to help us defend illness claims.

We haven’t included everything and there are many other things that you should think about to make sure you have total control of food and water safety at your premises.

We also ask that the systems you maintain and operate to document these procedures and practices are kept up to date, and details made available to us, so that we can defend claims.

USING HYGIENE CONSULTANTSWe recommend that you have an agreement in place for the completion of regular external audits by a reputable and professional independent consultant with relevant experience, technical training and proficiency in auditing. We also request that you have an agreement for food and water microbiological testing by a certified external company capable of performing these tests and providing accurate analysis of samples to confirm product safety, legality and quality.

YOUR FOOD HYGIENE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMYou must have a food hygiene management system, such as Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), to identify where hazards might occur in food production processes, and set out actions to prevent them. Compliance with these systems should significantly reduce the opportunity for claims to arise. Clear records of HACCP compliance is strong evidence that your hotel has taken all steps to prevent illness, so that if a customer has an issue it’s unlikely to have arisen at your hotel.

Evidence of following the system: You should keep HACCP records for a minimum of three years to show that the system has been followed. Those records should cover: food handling, kitchen cleanliness and employee hygiene details, food delivery, food temperature charts for kitchen and restaurant buffets (fridges, freezers, cold rooms and cooked food), stock rotation and pest control.

CLEANING GUIDELINESGood cleaning practices should involve:

Maintaining cleaning guidelines and an outline of cleaning systems for your hotel generally (additional to those for the kitchens) and to include guest rooms and communal areas

Keeping housekeeping records. Room cleaning records can show whether there’s any evidence (or not) of illness in rooms, as well as disinfection of rooms (say, after an outbreak)

Taking beginning-of-season swabs from staff, and retain results of swabs/test of food, water and food preparation surfaces

Keeping the staff rotas showing who was responsible for checking/replenishing buffets and for cleaning both kitchen and non-kitchen areas

Having a Prevention of Spread of Infection plan and a Faecal Accident plan

Keeping pool disinfection records to include records of PH and chlorine levels and faecal incidents

Staff quarters and bathrooms should be kept clean and hand basins should be provided with soap and disposable towels. Records of cleaning should be kept

YOUR EMPLOYEESYour employees play an important role:

• Where possible, you should take statements from relevant senior staff members about your compliance with hygiene systems and procedures at the time you complete your HACCP records (or equivalent system records). The statements should include comments on the frequency of temperature checks and buffet food replenishments, as well as details of other reported illnesses. The more senior the person signing off the standards, the more their comments will be viewed seriously. The free text is an at-the-time witness statement of events, which is more credible than witness statements made a period of time later by someone who may not have been in that role at the time.

• You should retain all training records for kitchen and restaurant staff, cleaners and pool/water technicians, showing the content of kitchen/restaurant training. You should also be able to provide evidence of a safe system of work/risk assessment for restaurant food checking and a replenishment/hygiene manual. This is evidence that the staff have been sufficiently trained for the service that they are providing and supports the defence that the staff have been equipped to be thorough and effective in their duties (including their H&S compliance).

FURTHER HELP AND SUPPORTAs well as arranging for our consultants to carry out audits on all the hotels we work with, our dedicated Health & Safety team is there to provide free support and advice on health, safety and hygiene practices.

You can request a copy of the Federation of Tour Operators Health & Safety Technical Guide, which has a dedicated section for Food Hygiene & Safety and water management. We can provide copies in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Turkish and Greek. Please contact our Health & Safety team to request copies of these. Our email address is TCGHygieneManagement@thomascook.com We’ve produced a number of ‘template’ checklists covering the following areas of your hotel. You may already have your own checklists, and if you do we would encourage you to compare these with our checklists to make sure that your records are complete.

Cleaning schedule

Housekeeping checklist

Customer Illness Log

Staff Illness Log

Pest Sightings

Temperature Logs (for hot/chilled buffet, cooking, freezers, refrigerator)

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ABTA Ltd

30 Park Street, London, SE1 9EQ Tel: +44 (0)20 3117 0590 Fax: +44 (0)20 3117 0581

Email: abta@abta.co.uk Web: www.abta.com Twitter: @ABTAtravel

TOURISM ACCOMMODATION

Health & Safety Technical Guide

You can access and print copies of our checklists at www.tcgo.me/hygiene

SECTION 4WORKING TOGETHER: ADDITIONAL PREVENTATIVE STEPS

Putting in place good food hygiene procedures, collecting and keeping accurate information in respect of illness reported, and providing information

and documentation, will all go towards making sure that your hotel maintains and can prove high standards of hygiene to defend against illness claims.

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WHY IT’S IMPORTANT• A customer with a genuine illness who needs assistance will receive appropriate treatment and follow up checks to accelerate the customer’s recovery

• If the doctor believes that the customer’s symptoms are attributable to something that the customer has consumed at your hotel, the customer should be referred for further tests to identify the cause of the illness at your cost

• If the doctor doesn’t believe that the customer’s symptoms were attributable to something that the customer consumed at your hotel, this must be documented (including the doctor’s reasons why they have come to this conclusion) and the customer should be referred to a local clinic and their travel insurance provider

• A follow-up contact should be made by you or the doctor to make sure that the customer is recovering (the doctor and you need to agree how this will be done, mindful of data protection considerations)

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT• It’s an opportunity to understand what the customer has been doing during their stay, whether they have consumed food and drink outside of the accommodation, as well as identify whether the customer has had any positive or negative experiences, which could corroborate or contradict a customer’s claimed illness

• With a mid-holiday questionnaire, if the customer’s not enjoying their stay, there’s an opportunity to discuss this with them and resolve any issues

QUESTIONNAIRE(S)If you have your own customer satisfaction questionnaire, that’s good and it’s important. Make sure you keep this and give us a copy in the event of a claim.

If you don’t have a questionnaire, we recommend you introduce one. You could also consider putting one in place mid-holiday.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANTA customer claiming to suffer a gastric illness is unlikely to want to make use of the hotel’s restaurant and facilities. If a customer has left the hotel to attend an excursion or other activity, this is a defence against the presumption that the customer’s claimed illness could only have originated from the hotel.

RECORDS OF CUSTOMER ATTENDANCES AND ACTIVITIESIt would be helpful if you could keep the following records of the customer’s use of facilities (which should include the customer name and room number):

· Attendances at your restaurant(s), including restaurant bookings

· Bar tabs, records of room service and purchase of consumption of food and drinks

· Use of other hotel facilities (e.g. spa, tennis court bookings, equipment hire, fitness classes)

· Any excursions booked with guest services

· Any taxis booked through the hotel

MEDICAL SERVICESIf a customer reports illness, they should be given the opportunity to see a doctor. We recommend you make sure this service is available, either at your hotel or at a local clinic.

We encourage you to do the following:

• Offer the customer access to a doctor: if this is declined, this should be recorded

• If the customer is experiencing symptoms of holiday illness, be prepared to offer the customer a free doctor’s consultation (if the customer can’t or won’t pay)

WHY IT’S IMPORTANTCourts in the UK place importance on the presence or absence of other incidents in assessing what has caused the illness, so if there are no other reported incidents (when customers have had the opportunity to report illness), customers may struggle to prove that their illness was caused by the consumption of contaminated food/drink.

RECORDS OF ILLNESSYou should keep regular records of staff illness and customer illness (or a confirmation that no illnesses have been reported during that period).

S E C T I O N 4 : W O R K I N G T O G E T H E R 1 1

We hope this guide has given you useful and helpful information about holiday illness claims. We look forward to your continued support on this issue. If you’d like any further

guidance or information or have any questions or concerns, please speak to the Thomas Cook Destination Manager, Quality Manager or Contracts Manager, or email our Health & Safety team

on TCGHygieneManagement@thomascook.com.

DATA PROTECTIONWe remind you to make sure that any personal data you retain of the customer is recorded and stored in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

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© Thomas Cook Group UK Limited, 2017. Registered Office - Westpoint, Peterborough Business Park, Lynch Wood, Peterborough, PE2 6FZ. Company registration number: 02319744 England.

March 2017