Until recently the president of the CAEB Restaurants Association, Alfonso Robledo says that restaurants are struggling to find staff because there are "people who prefer to live rather than work" in Mallorca.
The staff shortages that have been experienced since the pandemic have led in some cases to a reduction in the number of tables. Restaurants are having to come up with ways of balancing shifts, including closing for two days a week.
"The restaurant sector is not growing as much as it could do because of the lack of professionals. This in fact started before the pandemic; now every year it is more difficult to be able to get all the staff who are needed. But Covid did mark a before and after; people now prioritise living more than working."
Robledo insists that the lack of workers in the restaurant sector is not due to pay. "We have the best hospitality agreement in Spain." A typical salary is 1,500 euros net per month in 14 payments. However, he points out that tips have been reduced considerably, given that more and more customers now pay by card.
Working in a bar or restaurant can be hard. "When everyone else is partying, you are working." This is a reason why young people are turning their backs on the hospitality industry.
He explains that restaurants are looking more and more at employing people aged 50 and over. They can have problems finding employment in other sectors. "We are hiring them as they have experience, and they know what they want."
Robledo points to a familiar enough issue - the high cost of living in Mallorca and the Balearics, especially for housing, is one of the main reasons why people from the mainland no longer want to come to work. In Andalusia, which supplied many seasonal workers, there is now much higher demand for hospitality professionals. And there is another factor - Brexit. This resulted in young Britons not coming to work as waiters.
12 comments
To be able to write a comment, you have to be registered and logged in
Zoltan TeglasThat’s no doubt true. But as I said the majority of Majorca hospitality staff I encounter in Majorca are skilled in multiple languages, capable, pleasant and professional. And they work hard. The similar job in the U.K. certainly not multilingual or on occasion that professional. So wouldn’t meet the standards in Majorca or work for that level of salary. The lad I mentioned, he said when he worked in the shard he never met an English person other than customers. None of the staff were British. He loved the international feel of the place, and missed it.
David HollandThere are plenty of hospitality jobs in the UK that only play the minimum wage and places where the cost of living is far higher than Mallorca so it all depends on circumstances.
Zoltan TeglasWell I’m in neither Blackpool or Hull and the lad I mentioned earlier would return to the U.K. in a heartbeat if he could. And £16 hr in a nice little gastro pub in Northumberland, still unfilled , isn’t a bad little job. And after all ‘ money makes the world go round ‘ ..and the more you earn, makes life easier, does it not..?
David HollandYeah why would they come to Mallorca when they could be in Blackpool or Hull!
Stan The ManBrits chose to leave. Don’t start trying to cherry pick now that you are on the outside.
Charles Dalrymple-ChumleyIt's exactly the same when the right wing PP are in power. And the real beneficiary's from this are the big hotel chains who can shut for 5 months a year and get the government to pay their staff's wages. It's called corporate welfare.
Ulla JacksonWhen a youngster can earn £16 an hour in a U.K. bar . Other than a students summer holiday jolly why would they work in Majorca. My experience is that hospitality staff in Majorca are on the whole busier and more skilled than in the U.K. anyway. They certainly earn their £1250 a month.
Stan The ManIt's not going to be scrapped for British only. It's either to all non EU countries or to none at all. Cherry picking after Brexit. Why?
As long as the socialist Government continues to maintain the high unemployment benefit there's no incentive for the lazy to work. Why break your back when the Government will pay you to stay at home and watch day time TV? This is a problem in the UK where those who know how to can manipulate the system and receive benefits far beyond what they could earn in the employment market. Yes, we should be compassionate to those with genuine issues preventing them getting work such as disability and health but to the scroungers there should be a warning - find a job pronto or we'll cut the benefit.
Lots of young people from the UK , came to Mallorca for Seasonal work. But the 90 day rule controlling the length of any visit , has prevented those workers from being here. The sooner the 90 day ruling is scrapped, the sooner young workers can return.