High rates for hospitality staff at new temp agencies

Staff shortages in the hospitality industry, so it was bound to happen: the hourly wage for those scarce employees is going up. That’s according to temp agency Youbahn, which provides students to work as dishwashers, servers or housekeeping staff. They’re seeing rates of as much as thirty euros an hour: ‘If someone wants to work at the last minute, they can earn a very nice little extra.’

Many hospitality entrepreneurs are suffering from staff shortages in the industry. Some restaurants or cafés have to close for a day or a few days a week because they can’t find anyone to run the bar or wait tables. Why is that? During the coronavirus closure, temporary staff went looking for something else and found work as parcel or meal delivery drivers. And that’s a lot better than working in hospitality: normal working hours, less stress and (slightly) better pay.

Higher salary

What is the hospitality industry supposed to do? Koninklijke Horeca Nederland (KHN) is running a campaign to convince people that working in hospitality is really great fun. Salaries need to go up, workloads need to come down and new staff would also like more opportunities to build a career. But for now, that campaign isn’t immediately bearing fruit; more and more chefs, bartenders and waitresses have had enough. KHN data shows that at least 100,000 people have turned their backs on the hospitality industry recently.

Nice little extra

Temp agencies such as Youbahn are happily jumping into this gap in the market. The agency provides staff for temporary jobs and deliberately does not work with long-term contracts. Has the bartender called in sick at the last minute? Is the dishwashing area overflowing? You can arrange a replacement through Youbahn, but it will cost you, Ard Huininga of the platform tells trade magazine Misset Horeca.

‘We also advise entrepreneurs to raise the hourly wage as the deadline approaches. Price is the instrument for filling that shift after all.’ This allows students who want to work a shift to earn a nice little extra, says the owner of Youbahn, especially with rates rising to as much as thirty euros an hour during peak times.

Washing a cup

That doesn’t mean the student gets to take thirty euros an hour home, excluding tips. If the hospitality business pays that amount, part of it goes toward employer costs such as social security contributions and tax. And Youbahn pockets three euros an hour without washing a single cup or tapping a beer. A quick calculation: that leaves roughly half for the student worker.

Lantern

It remains to be seen whether agencies like this offer a structural solution to staff shortages in the hospitality industry. The staff working through Youbahn choose individual jobs at a high rate of pay. They are mainly students who do not plan to work in hospitality for long. Youbahn also does not mediate for head chefs—you have to search for those with a lantern, let alone. Does this benefit the hospitality industry as a sector? Or mainly the clever student workers and the temp agency?

Read also:

• 8 ways to be short and work in hospitality
• Why hospitality has become more expensive
• Dear hospitality thieves, stop stealing

Source: Misset Horeca