We have 74 relief chefs currently out work this is up by 8 from last year.
Relief jobs out is slightly down this week.
We have had a few more hygiene certificates through, I am hoping to get everyone’s by the end of this year. If you need to renew yours please follow this link https://www.rehis.com/community-training/courses/course/elementary-food-hygiene everyone that is doing relief work via Chefs In Scotland must have one.
Jade is on annual leave now and will be back to work on Monday 22nd October, myself and Jessica will be dealing with junior vacancies so please get in touch if you are looking for a new job/challenge. Email updated CV’s to recruitment@chefsinscotland.co.uk
Some of our chefs are in Moffat this weekend for Chefs In Scotland annual Golf Competition. (will be nice to see them)
Can you get in touch also is you are happy to work Christmas and New Year. Just drop me a PM, call 01683 222830 or email jojo@chefsinscotland.co.uk
There have been lots of CV’s sent out this week and interviews arranged.
We would like to thank all our Chefs and Customers for all your hard work and support we really do appreciate it 😊
With the season drawing shortly to an end in the next few weeks the availability of relief chefs who are known to us is becoming much better. We have had relief chefs out working all over Scotland and the North of England this year. We have had some excellent guys and girls join us this year as well as chefs who have been working with us for a considerable amount of time.
Although as recruiters we wish it was as simple as finding a chef and finding a job there is so much more to it than that.
Most of our relief chefs who have been on our books more than a few years will know that the positions we have can be extremely rural including Shetland, Orkney, Skye, Islay, Mull and Bute, to name a few. It can be hard to leave to go and work away from home and friends and family but to compensate this we try and make sure our chefs get a good rate, decent accommodation and travel expenses as well as paid for every hour that they work. Unfortunately, we are not always given the correct information which can sometimes lead to a lack of communication.
We stipulate that the accommodation must be clean and single, and we are under no illusions that after a long day travelling to a job, to find this is not the case and no one was expecting you can be a very hard to bare especially when we’ve shut our doors at 5pm.
Another difficulty can be the kitchen that you go in to. Invariably the reason for a relief chef being required is that either there is a holiday that needs to be covered, but most of the time it is due to a lack of staff in the kitchen. This can cause resentment among current staff who are usually on a lesser wage.
Payments and travel expenses can also cause friction as it is agreed with us that the chef should receive a payment either in the form of an advance or wage each week.
We would love to hear of any other difficulties that face relief chefs in the comments below.
There are still 75 chefs out working for Chefs In Scotland this is 2 up on last year.
Jobs out this week are a little down.
We are still looking to meet relief chefs here in Moffat, if you would like to come and have a chat about relief work please get in touch to check our availability.
There are few more relief chefs becoming available.
Im getting a few chefs emailing in their Hygiene Certificates ideally I would like everyone to have this sent over to me in the coming weeks.
Chefs are also getting in touch to let me know their availability for over the festive period.
A few chefs we placed towards the end of September
Chris Campbell at The Glenburn Hotel in Rothesay
Stuart Agnew is booked for New Year at the Cross Kingussie
George McCallum is at The Balmacara Hotel in Kyle of Lochalsh
Tony Vinter at The Mackays Hotel in Wick
Maciej Resinski has just started at The Glenburn Hotel
Taylor Mcfarlane is booked for The Pierhouse Hotel in Port Appin
Sebastian Held is booked for The Lovat Arms in Beauly
Graeme Kennedy and Patrick Johnstone are both at The Grandtully Hotel
Glyn Musker is back in Orkney at the Kirkwall Hotel
Tony Philip is at Ardlui Hotel Tom Williams is going to the Classroom
Lillian Clarkson is at The Links Hotel in Montrose
Robin McCrindle is at Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness
Thanks everyone for your continued hard work and support we really do appreciate 😊
Holidays
Almost all workers are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday per year. An employer can include bank holidays as part of statutory annual leave. Most workers who work a 5-day week must receive at least 28 days’ paid annual leave per year. This is the equivalent of 5.6 weeks of holiday. This is usually worked out at a percentage of 12.07% of total hours worked. This is eligible for all workers including temporary workers and the employer and can enforce when holidays can be taken.
Contracts
An employer must give employees a written statement of particulars if they are employed for one month or more. This isn’t a contract as such, but the employer must provide the written statement within 2 months of the start of employment.
The contract must include:
• the business’s name and the employee’s name, job title or a description of work and start date
• how much and how often an employee will get paid
• hours of work (and if employees will have to work Sundays, nights or overtime which is usually named as unsociable hours)
• holiday entitlement (and if that includes public holidays)
• where an employee will be working and whether they might have to relocate
• if an employee works in different places, where these will be and what the employer’s address is
Overtime
Employers do not have to pay workers for overtime. However, your average pay for the total hours you work must not fall below the National Minimum Wage.
Your employment contract will usually include details of any overtime pay rates and how they’re worked out. You cannot usually be forced to work more than an average of 48 hours per week. You can agree to work longer - but this agreement must be in writing and signed by you and is usually included in the written statement of particulars or your contract.
Head chefs
If paying good money and in a central location such as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, Dundee, Aberdeen and Perth the availability of head chefs is good, basically, the more central and the larger local population the better availability.
What is good money for a head chef? This can vary from a small pub to a large five star or 3AA Rosette Hotel and can be anything from £14 per hour for a one-man job cooking simple food to £45,000 and upwards.
For a standard hotel job we would suggest in the region £35,000+ with overtime paid pro rata over 45 to 48 hours sanctioned by management.
Bonus schemes always help and can be based on getting a gross profit margin of over say 65 to 70% and it is always advisable stressing in advance how often the bonus is paid and what the exact criteria are. Other bonuses may be based on increase in sales. Keeping wages ratio down and helping to achieve certain net profits subject to maintaining quality of food, kitchen cleanliness and staff retention.
In more rural Scotland it is harder to get and retain chefs and often accommodation should be offered to attract suitable candidates.
Sous chefs
The availability of sous chefs in rural Scotland is ok as we move into the end of the season. Sometimes, a mature former head chef will be happy to take a step back to work alongside head chef.
In more central Scotland, there are a few candidates about and if paying decent money (i.e. upwards of £26,000 or £12-13 per hour) and offering good working conditions there is no reason why you cannot keep a good sous chef with a stable track record.
In rural Scotland, there can be a need to think outside of the box to retain and attract good sous chef candidates and many establishments find it easier to take on relief chefs for the season.
Chef de parties
Availability is ok in Glasgow, Edinburgh and the central belt.
In rural Scotland with accommodation there are fewer candidates, but you will get applicants if wages are decent, suggesting £10 to £12 per hour or a salary of between £20,000 - £24,000. The more money you can pay the better the availability of chefs is.
For chef de partie jobs it is a chef market.
Commis chefs
There are usually a few candidates available centrally or further afield if offering accommodation.
Pastry Chefs: this is quite a specialist position and there are often a couple of specialised pastry chefs looking, not always though.
Enclosed link to minimum wages.
www.minimum-wage.co.uk/
Availability of Relief Chefs changes, and we can advise daily. The rates of pay are £13 to £17 per hour according to the position.
RSS