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Availability of Chefs 11th January 2018

Head chefs

There are quite a lot of head chef candidates in central Scotland if paying good money more than £30,000 and upwards for head chef jobs.

In rural Scotland including Inverness and all the highlands and islands, there are a few head chefs and we advise offering accommodation with permanent head chef jobs to attract candidates. Otherwise you may have to wait some time until a relevant local candidate becomes available.

In rural Scotland and particular 2AA Rosette country house hotels there are some relevant candidates if paying good money (about £35,000 for 2AA Rosette head chef)

Suggest paying £30,000 upwards to £40,000 according to requirements and demands of the job. Ideally we advise for a five day week and over-time paid on a pro rata basis for extra days worked and for hours in excess of 48 on a pro rata basis. Borders, Aberdeenshire, Dundee, East coast, and Perthshire there are a few Head Chefs registered.

The more central, the more candidates you will expect to get and the more rural, the harder it can get.

With all the social media currently available, many chefs are becoming very savvy about where they wish to work and establishments with records of poor chef retention may find it harder to attract good quality permanent candidates. Scotland is quite a small country.

There are lots more chefs available now as we approach the 2018 season. For seasonal positions especially, we do advise paying an hourly rate of pay of £14-£16 per hour with accommodation provided depending on location. This will attract candidates.

Sous chefs

If it is a live-in position for 3 or 4 star hotel suggest paying £25,000 to £27,000.

In central areas such as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perth and Stirling can try live-out and there are relevant chefs. In rural Scotland, including Dumfries and Galloway, Aberdeenshire and Perthshire it can be harder to get candidates and there are few candidates available depending on the package in place.

Suggest wages of £28,000 upwards to £30,000 plus for 2 AA and 3AA Rosette sous chefs.

A good way to attract candidates is to pay hourly rates for every hour worked by chefs. For sous chefs suggest £12 to £14 per hour this will help to attract and retain good candidates. If paying salaried, we suggest five day week with overtime pro rata over 48 hours.

Chef de parties

Availability is good in Glasgow, Edinburgh and central belt. In rural Scotland with accommodation there are candidates if wages are decent, suggesting £9 to £11 per hour.

The availability of chefs who are looking for more rural jobs such as Fort William, Inverness-shire and West Coast is limited although there are some chefs looking for live in accommodation or chefs that may be happy to relocate.

If paying by salary £19,000 for a 45 hour week works out £8.11 an hour which is on the low side. Suggest paying up to £22,000 with live in accommodation at a small charge. We would hope you will get decent candidates with this.

Commis chefs

Lots of bodies available. Enclosed link to minimum wages.

www.minimum-wage.co.uk/

We are suggesting thinking outside the box when it comes to chef retention. This could be ideas such as one weekend of a month; working 4 or 4 and a half days per week; overtime after 48 hours worked per week or end of season bonuses

Availability of Relief Chefs changes daily and we can advise.

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