More than half of respondents to VERiFAIR’s first industry-wide hospitality survey said they had experienced inappropriate, unsafe or unacceptable workplace behaviour during the past 12 months.
The independent standard for responsible hospitality employers, founded by Justine Murphy, has released the findings as a baseline against which it intends to measure workplace change over time.
Responses were gathered from employees and employers across the hospitality industry.
The findings show that 52% of respondents experienced inappropriate, unsafe or unacceptable behaviour during the past 12 months, while 65% said they had experienced it at some point during their career.
Of those who reported experiencing poor behaviour, 80% said it had occurred within the past year.
The research also identified a gap between workplace policies and their implementation.
Fewer than one in six respondents said they work somewhere with clear behaviour policies that are always followed on a day-to-day basis.
More than half, 56%, said they did not believe appropriate action would be taken when a concern was raised.
The survey found that 42% of respondents would feel comfortable raising a concern about workplace behaviour or culture.
Among those who do not believe action would be taken, that figure fell to 20%.
Workplace culture was also identified as a potential factor in employee retention.
Some 58% of respondents said they had considered leaving a role because of workplace culture or behaviour.
Among respondents who had experienced poor behaviour, the figure increased to 81%, compared with 12% of those who had not.
One anonymous respondent commented, “I think one of the biggest issues in hospitality is that behaviour which would be unacceptable in many workplaces is often brushed off as ‘just the industry’.”
VERiFAIR assesses how workplace policies are implemented and maintained in practice.
Businesses that successfully complete its verification process receive the VERiFAIR Standard and are subject to annual re-verification.
Employees at verified businesses also have access to a confidential reporting system providing an independent route through which workplace concerns can be raised.
“A responsible workplace shouldn’t just be something a business says it has,” says Justine Murphy, Founder of VERiFAIR. “The VERiFAIR Standard independently verifies it, with accountability built in, all year round. I created VERiFAIR because responsible employment should be demonstrated in practice, not simply promised on paper. Hospitality deserves a standard that gives good employers a way to prove it, and their people an independent voice when it matters.”
The findings were also the subject of The Future of Hospitality Workplaces Industry Breakfast and Panel Discussion at HIDE on 6 October.
Hosted and moderated by Murphy, the panel featured Lauren Linford of Home Hospitality, Nathaniel Mortley of 2210 by Natty Can Cook, Sally Abé of Teal by Sally Abé, Allen Simpson of UKHospitality and Sunaina Sethi, Co-Founder and Chief People Officer at JKS Restaurants.
VERiFAIR is designed for employers across hospitality, including restaurants, bars, hotels, cafés, pubs and independent businesses.
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