To think that if the hospitality industry is struggling to fill vacancies...

[Susie477]

It should pay higher wages?

The hospitality industry is facing a ‘jobs crisis’, we are told. Restaurants are complaining that they can’t recruit the workers they need to re-open after lockdown. Many of the foreign workers they previously relied on have gone home after Brexit & covid, and they are struggling to recruit British workers to do minimum wage jobs with unsocial working hours.

So why not offer to pay more? Businesses accept that they have to pay competitively to recruit senior executives and justify high salaries by citing ‘market forces’. Why doesn’t the same apply to ordinary workers?

One of the alleged benefits of Brexit was supposed to be that the U.K. economy would be forced to break its addiction to an unlimited supply of cheap immigrant labour. So why isn’t it happening? Why aren’t wages rising?

Is it the wages at the moment, or the insecurity? Who wants to start a new job when there's a chance your employer might be forced to close down for an unspecified time, and you won't be able to get furlough because you're new?

Because the hospitality industry is on its knees, has always relied on cheaper labour, doesn't have the money in the bank to cover higher labour costs and is unwilling to pass on costs to a public reeling from the effects of a pandemic, probably.

To be fair, this would have happened a year ago if it hadn't been for Covid and furlough.

BlackForestCake has it, I think. I'n recruiting at the moment and that's the question I get asked A LOT.

I saw a young woman post on a jobs board earlier that she was looking for a job and had done a bit of bar work in the past. She got 115 replies from shops, cafes, hotels and restaurants. The problem here is there's a housing crisis, none of the seasonal workers have anywhere to live so no one can come into the area for the summer rush. People are camping in tents to be able to do the season.

I also don't think it was the hospitality industry making the argument that dearer labour post-Brexit would be a good thing...

Also there are the customers, people are so rude and dont follow the rules, why put yourself at risk to serve rude drunk people? And thats from someone who works in the industry and has to deal with it every week.

A lot of EU citizens may have moved on too causing staff shortages.

It'll worse when care homes have no staff.

Well maybe it will be a good thing and wages will start to rise in line with the cost of actually living!

Foreigners are not the problem, it should be made they are paid properly, not the least they will accept- which is what was done before, so the mess they are in, they created themselves!

I can't speak for where you are, but in NI the ones struggling to fill vacancies (both restaurants and bars) are mainly the ones who treated their staff like absolute shit during lockdown and are expecting them to come back to work when they are still owed money.

@BlackForestCake

Is it the wages at the moment, or the insecurity? Who wants to start a new job when there's a chance your employer might be forced to close down for an unspecified time, and you won't be able to get furlough because you're new?

Are most of the staff new, or are they people returning from furlough?

@HangingOver

I saw a young woman post on a jobs board earlier that she was looking for a job and had done a bit of bar work in the past. She got 115 replies from shops, cafes, hotels and restaurants. The problem here is there's a housing crisis, none of the seasonal workers have anywhere to live so no one can come into the area for the summer rush. People are camping in tents to be able to do the season.

And I bet every single one of them wanted her to do shifts for free trial shifts.

Treat people like shit and pay them fuck all when there's always somebody else waiting to take the job, what you get when you can't get twenty more applicants in 24 hours is people thinking 'actually, no'.

Consequences of actions.

We pay the living wage in our business but we barely break even, would people be willing to pay more for their coffees and cakes to accommodate a pay rise for staff?

@Coffeeisnecessary

We pay the living wage in our business but we barely break even, would people be willing to pay more for their coffees and cakes to accommodate a pay rise for staff?

I'm always surprised how much people are devoted to coffee and food. Obviously this was good for me when I worked in hospitality. So I can only guess yes, I think there's particular demographics who will.

I don't eat out due to expense but don't want to go to the local pub because of the atmosphere. I know the landlord and he said business had not lived up to expectations this week. It could be job losses but it could be the atmosphere? He thinks people are scared of the new variant.

I'd assume hospitality wages are stagnant because the industry has been forcibly closed for months on end. But buildings still have to be heated, powered and maintained, stock bought, rent paid, investment in covid-secure measures. Meanwhile SD capacities and covid operating procedures make trading difficult. How are wage rises supposed to be funded?

Rollo "How are wage rises supposed to be funded?"

By charging more. The MNers who say "I saved £5000 during lockdown" will pay extra I think? If they were out so often that they saved that much on holidays and meals out, I imagine they're quite well off.

People don't want to pay more for their meals. Which would be needed to increase wages. Restaurants are very low margin at the best of times. In many places, if you go for an early-bird menu and don't order a bottle of wine with it, they actually lose money on the table. It's a tough industry.

@Coffeeisnecessary

We pay the living wage in our business but we barely break even, would people be willing to pay more for their coffees and cakes to accommodate a pay rise for staff?

I don't think they will. Before covid you would regularly hear them complaining about prices. Can't see them paying more

Ostara they can always try it, see if the custom is there (hopefully it will be). But I wouldn't assume that automatically translates to wage rises for all staff. Surely the extra income will simply be helping to offset the losses of the last year - and potentially beyond, if SD rules and capacity limits aren't dropped. As PP said margins are tight and we aren't back to normal.

Not suggesting hospitality shouldn't try to charge more, or that staff shouldn't be paid fairly - but I don't think it's realistic or fair to expect one of the industries most hammered by covid to fund increased wages as soon as it reopens.

Rollo I see your point but if they can't get staff, I can't see any other incentive than pay. I know a few people who found it fun but I don't think they were the majority.

I only worked for a really nice lady so my experience isn't much.

Well dd lost her hospitality job during covid, her employer stopped paying furlough and that was that. She found a better paid temporary job and has now started a job within her chosen career. I imagine lots of other employees also lost their jobs and are now working in more stable conditions.
I think it's expensive to eat and drink out, that's just my opinion. I'm not the target market for pubs and restaurants though.

Ostara oh I agree with you there - I often think hospitality can be thankless at the best of times, and especially now, running around in hot masks and following all the extra protocols. I totally understand why staff would expect better pay to do it, I just think it's an impossible spot for the employers because the finances will be horrifically tight. No winners in hospitality, that's for sure (unless you're Maccies or Costa).

We pay the living wage in our business but we barely break even, would people be willing to pay more for their coffees and cakes to accommodate a pay rise for staff?

yes, if prices need to rise then i'll pay more

GM of a hotel in the south west who survived the past 12 months due to corporate demand.

I can't get chefs and my company has increased the salary. There was a problem with chef vacancies prior to brexit now their like gold dust.

Donning my whites in 6 hours for a breakfast shift.

I work for a huge financial company that has a call centre. Loads of people have joined it from hospitality - transferable customer services skills are so useful. Call centre pay is better, there is no weekend working (not at ours anyway) and they were told a few weeks ago that they can wfh 3 days per week permanently if they want. I can’t see many of them returning to the cafes and pubs tbh.