Experienced hospo worker offered 35c more an hour to stay

Thursday, 28 July 2022

Mike Egan, national president of the Restaurant Association says mental health is one of the number one issues for many of his members.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story quoted Ellsie Coles as saying that her boss “laughed in her face” when she asked for a payrise. This was a misquote. Corrected July 30, 5.12pm.

Experienced hospitality worker Ellsie Coles says, when she asked for a pay rise, the 35c-an-hour she was offered by her employer was “ridiculous”.

Coles was a restaurant manager in Christchurch, who saw that newly hired staff with less responsibility had started on a higher wage than her.

When she asked for a raise her boss offered her 35c, so she instead decided to quit.

She said it seemed that, all across the hospitality industry, businesses desperate for staff were offering great starting rates for new hires, and neglecting their existing staff.

* Vaccine passports, mandatory vaccines on cards for Southland businesses

* Covid-19: Some hospitality workers asked to work during lockdown in apparent breach of restrictions

Ellsie Coles says her boss laughed when she asked for a pay rise.

“If they are so desperate for staff they need to make sure their existing staff sticks around first. They have dug themselves such a big hole paying new people more,” she said.

“Why should I stay if they clearly don’t value me?”

The combination of many hospitality skills being transferable, and it being rare to receive a pay increase, had led many hospitality workers to change jobs, she said.

Coles found a job as a barista, with fewer hours, less responsibility and a wage of $4 more an hour than her previous role.

“I have no sympathy. These businesses are all complaining about their senior staff leaving, but that is because they are not offering them any incentive to stay,” she said.

Founder of Raise the Bar hospitality union Chloe Ann-King said issues of low wages and staff mistreatment had come to the fore due to the cost of living crisis.

Founder of Raise the Bar hospitality union Chloe Ann-King said issues of low wages and staff mistreatment had plagued the industry for decades.

But now the rising cost of living was bringing back into the spotlight just how overworked and underpaid many workers in the hospitality industry were, she said.

“Pay rises are almost unheard of in our industry. The businesses are calling it a ‘labour shortage’, but we call it a wage shortage. It is a shortage of employers willing to pay staff fairly,” Ann-King said.

Ann-King pointed to an AUT study into the experience of hospitality workers that found 48% of hospitality workers had never had the opportunity to ask for a pay rise.

“We deserve to be compensated for our mahi. Despite what politicians or business owners tell us, our jobs are highly skilled and we deserve better.”

The Restaurant Association has launched an industry accreditation programme, HospoCred, to reward businesses that meet employment standards.

The standards include paying employees more than the minimum wage, having a regular performance and pay review system, and plans for employee training in place.

Association chief executive Marisa Bidois acknowledged that the industry as a whole had a reputation for hard work and low wages, but said there were also many businesses that paid a higher wage and looked after staff. She said the scheme had specifically been designed to highlight those employers.

Bidois said the accreditation programme would be a signal to employees and the public that a business looked after its staff.

Ann-King said it would be healthy for the hospitality industry if businesses that were not able to attract or retain staff were forced to close so that the industry could change for the better.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said that businesses had to pay the minimum wage to qualify for HospoCred accreditation. They must pay more than the minimum wage. Corrected July 29, 3.27pm.