There is already a shortage of tens of thousands of workers in the hospitality industry nationwide – and the shortage of staff is likely to worsen in the coming months.
According to the Dehoga industry association, there are currently around 50,000 vacancies in restaurants and cafés, hotels, guesthouses and other businesses in Germany. “In the spring, the numbers will increase again significantly,” said a Dehoga spokeswoman. Overall, however, thanks to intensive efforts to strengthen training, a “positive trend” in employment is expected.
After numerous employees looked for other jobs, for example in retail and logistics, during the corona pandemic, many of them have now returned, the spokeswoman explained. In October 2022, the number of employees subject to social security contributions was still 3.7 percent below the pre-crisis level. Hopes are placed on the planned immigration reform, according to the Dehoga spokeswoman. “We need new legal options for targeted labor migration from third countries.” Overall, the hospitality industry in Germany offers more than a million jobs subject to social security contributions.
New businesses sometimes have a hard time
We are looking for specialists and workers in all areas – from full-time employees to mini-jobbers. The competition for employees is particularly difficult for the mostly small and medium-sized companies in rural regions. But even new companies sometimes find it difficult to find and retain staff, as Madjid Djamegari says. The operator of the Frankfurt Gibson Club and chairman of the Frankfurt Gastronomy Initiative also feels this in his restaurant Club Social Mexicano at the Eschenheimer Tor in Frankfurt, which opened six months ago. There is a high turnover in the company, he is always dependent on temporary workers and has to put in a lot of effort to establish a suitable team, says Djamegari. Competitors have a similar experience – in some cases they spend their entire marketing budget on recruiting personnel.
The shortage of staff is exacerbated by a naturally higher level of sick leave in the winter months. As a result, some establishments can only open three or four days a week and have to limit reservation times, which in turn depresses sales and increases difficulties. Djamegari also attributes the lack of applicants in the industry to the changed demands and ideas of young people. “The work-life balance is a huge issue,” says the restaurateur. Self-realization is very popular – that’s why the labour-intensive catering industry, in which you also have to take on a lot of responsibility, is not very attractive, especially for young people. The problems are not new, but have been exacerbated by the corona pandemic.
Talented service staff in particular have good earning opportunities, says Djamegari. The applicants are not only concerned with money – more flexible working hours with free time on the weekends are also an issue for many, and quite a few restaurateurs responded to this with appropriate offers. Nevertheless, not everyone manages to find enough employees, like a restaurant in Wiesbaden, which was not even able to open again after a renovation during the pandemic – because there simply weren’t enough workers, as Djamegari says. In addition, there are currently other high burdens due to inflation and high energy costs. This can only be managed through professionalization and process optimization, so that larger companies and chains are currently in a much better position.
However, the companies that are part of the Federal Association of System Gastronomy are also struggling with staff bottlenecks and a shortage of workers. A spokeswoman for the association explained that significant investments have been made in recent years, for example in the modernization of restaurants, digitization and innovative products and, last but not least, in the staff. Although the past few years have shown how quickly the framework conditions can change, we are cautiously optimistic for the current year.
Pay is often just above minimum wage
The union Food, Enjoyment and Restaurants (NGG) is less confident about the hospitality industry as a whole. The pivotal point in recruiting staff is the wages, which are often only just above the minimum wage, says NGG chairman Guido Zeitler. A member survey by the trade union, in which mainly long-term employees in the industry recently took part, revealed that around a third of them see no long-term prospects in their job.
Young people without families of their own might be able to cope with working hours of sometimes ten hours and more until late in the evening and with shift work. But at the latest when the employees have children, it becomes difficult. In the long term, Zeitler believes that the industry is likely to face even greater staff shortages – coupled with shorter opening times, more days closed and limited booking options. There are only more employees with better income. 3000 euros per month gross should be the minimum for skilled workers in the future. The industry needs “a real restart,” says Zeitler.
