Prominent pub company to offer $1000 sign-on bonuses due to Melbourne-wide staff shortages Image by Patrick Tomasso
The Melbourne hospitality industry is currently experiencing a staff shortage crisis.
Now that Melbourne’s hospitality industry has reopened and is back to operating near its full capacity, the customer demand on pubs, cafes, bars and restaurants has skyrocketed.
During the lockdown, venues would have had to lay off staff because they couldn’t afford to pay their wages – remembering that much of the hospitality industry is made up of casual workers, many of whom weren’t aided by the federal government’s financial support schemes.
Advertisement
Hospitality workers are being offered sign-on bonuses of up to $1000 in a battle between pubs and restaurants to secure staff amid a labour shortage that may drive up wages and food and drink prices.
The competition is particularly hot in Victoria where venues are reopening after months of lockdown to find a workforce raided by other states and absent of backpackers and skilled visa holders, who were told early in the pandemic to return home and denied access to JobSeeker or JobKeeper payments.
Victorian president of the Australian Hotels Association, David Canny, said the shortage extended from unskilled roles such as dishwashers through to head chefs, and it meant some venues were unable to reopen or were closing for days just to give overworked staff a break.