“The hospitality industry is in a desperate state,” are the words of a former restaurant manager, who has felt forced to leave the industry and find work on a building site instead.
Over the last year the hospitality industry has suffered a massive blow. The impact of the Covid pandemic has led to what is now being described nationally as a ‘hospitality crisis’.
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Furloughed staff, having had time to reflect on what they want out of life and across the country – with the Isle of Wight no exception – hospitality staff, both front of house and in the kitchen, are quitting the industry and finding work in other areas.
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This is the first in a series of articles from News OnTheWight, as we take a deep dive into the hospitality industry on the Island and explore how and why it been affected.
Today News OnTheWight speaks with a former restaurant manager of a leading hotel, who has left the industry after 28 years to become a labourer on a building site.
Brian’s story
At the age of 18, Brian started his career in hospitality working in a pub. Now 46-years-old he’s been in the same profession for his entire working life.
Having worked at high end restaurants and hotels in London for the last 20 years, Brian moved to the Island four years ago and up until recently he was the restaurant manager for a prestigious hotel.
At the beginning of the third Lockdown in January 2021, Brian found work on a building site, working less hours and earning more money.
He told News OnTheWight,
“At the end of the first lockdown, when we went back to work, everything just became so much more difficult, due to the restrictions.
“And then when you add on top of that what catering is anyway – the long hours and conditions … I literally went out with a builder in January and quickly realised I can actually make more money on this building site as a labourer.”
Long and exhausting days
Brian explained that at the hotel he had been working 14 hour days. In a standard week he’d be starting at 9am to help with breakfast and lunch, go home at 3pm, but then had to be back again at 5.30pm and work through until 11pm.
A long and exhausting day, with just a couple of hours off in the middle, and not much free time available once you’ve travelled home and back again.
Now as a labourer, Brian is working a seven-hour day from 8am to 3pm, five days a week. “It’s hard work,” he says, but he’s still earning £50 a week more than when he was a restaurant manager working a 14-hour day.
The promise of time off in the winter never came
Brian said,
“I was a salaried member of staff, so you can work me to the bone in the summer and swear blind I can have those hours back in the winter when it’s quiet.
“Except that when the winter gets here, all the students that were working in the summer aren’t here anymore, so my working life never changed, I just had more people to serve. That was the difference, I was still doing the same hours.”
Not being paid enough for the abuse
The long hours and working conditions were not the only thing that led Brian to leave the industry after 28 years. He told News OnTheWight about customers being rude, reducing staff to tears, or being abusive.
“People using restaurants or hotels need to ‘see’ the person that is serving them.
“It’s not their fault, they’re not being paid enough for the abuse that they get.”
Seasonal work
It’s nothing new, but Brian feels one of the biggest problems with hospitality is the seasonal work; explaining that most staff are on zero hour contracts and if you’re working on a dark November evening you might be sent home just an hour after arriving to work due to a lack of customers.
“Staff not being guaranteed the money, hours and if you fall out with someone at work you might not be guaranteed your shifts.
“It’s been an issue in catering ever since I’ve been in it.”
“I love the job”
On top of the labouring work, Brian has had to seek other part time work. He explained that had he gone back to the hotel in a part-time role, he’d be only getting the equivalent £8.50-£9 an hour for this work.
Luckily for him, Brian he’s managed to secure regular part-time at a yacht club, earning £12.50 an hour.
“I love the job and am happy to be working still within it part time in the yacht club.”
More to come
News OnTheWight is seeking to tell this story from all angles.
Look out for the next part in our Hospitality Deep Dive series, when we talk to a restaurant owner about the issues they are having to deal with.
Image: AbsolutVision under CC BY 2.0 and Theme Photos under CC BY 2.0
