Honest Burgers in talks with staff over the scrapping of paid breaks
15.02.2023 - 20:37
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Independent burger chain Honest Burgers is in talks with its staff about scrapping paid breaks. According to reports, the paying of staff during breaks, a move that was introduced after lockdown to raise wages, has cost the company £600,000 per year over its 45 restaurants in the UK.
It now says that due to rising costs in the hospitality sector, plus the upcoming increase of the minimum wage, that the benefit has now become too expensive. An internal document seen by the Evening Standard reportedly said that the introduction of paid breaks was 'frankly a mistake'.
Currently, while employees are entitled to breaks during work shifts, whether they’re paid during those breaks depends on their employer and their contract.
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However, it also said that it will increase wages among staff members to make up for the shortfall, a move it says has been ‘broadly well received’. A spokesperson for Honest Burgers, said: "In the face of exceptional cost pressures affecting the hospitality sector, we have taken the difficult decision to consult with our teams to remove a paid breaks benefit that was implemented during the pandemic.
"This benefit is one that is quite unusual in the sector and we are removing it in order to be able to afford higher pay rates for our team members, with increases of 6%-10% for the roles not directly affected by the 10% national minimum wage increase.
"We are making every effort to be fair to our people and to ensure that the majority of our team members will be better off. These proposed changes have been broadly well received and we therefore expect to reach mutual agreement with the vast majority of our people."
According to the Standard,