Restaurants struggle to recruit staff as terraces reopen in France
Around 18% of workers have left the hospitality sector during the health crisis with many citing long hours and low pay as a factor in the decision
Restaurants, cafés and bars are struggling to find staff as rules are lifted today allowing them to reopen to customers for the first time since October 2020.
A study* by business advisor Akto found that hospitality businesses expect to have 18% less staff in 2021 than in the previous year, equivalent to around 110,000 workers nationally.
Akto said “the phenomenon was difficult to measure”, but indications showed that seasonal and occasional workers in particular had left the sector following widespread disruption caused by the health crisis.
Akto conducted its study for management organisations in the hospitality sector.
It said: “Some establishments lost all contact with employees when they closed [due to the health crisis.] Now there are fears and uncertainty over how many will return, including seasonal and occasional workers who have been less in demand than normal in the past few months.”
Workers hope for better conditions elsewhere
Some workers have seen the crisis as a chance to move on from demanding restaurant work. Chloé, 21, a former hospitality worker from Manche, Normandy, told FranceInfo: “They would call me at the last minute, sometimes I finished at one or two in the morning, sometimes it was very tiring.
“I was only able to go out with my friends twice last summer, over four months. I decided it was too difficult, that I wanted to find a job where I could work in the day, with fixed hours.”
Emir, a former kitchen and delivery worker, enjoyed his work but also found the irregular hours and low pay difficult. “When people work 40 or 45 hours per week, without good pay or with part of the pay declared and part not, it makes people want to leave,” he said.
“I want to find a job where I can work and eat without being exploited. I could be a binman or a trainee chef, it really doesn’t matter.”
*The Akto study was conducted online among 3,172 respondents from the hospitality sector in mainland France in February and March 2021.
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