Michael Tough, set up the company, when on Skye in 1998 whilst continuing to work as a chef. It took off in 2000 as Skye Recruitment before becoming Chefs In Scotland in 2001.
Michael sometimes takes incoming calls to discuss chef recruitment on 07493716521.
This will be displayed on the CIS Facebook page.
Michael michael@chefsinscotland.co.uk
Out and About
Skye 2026
What struck me most about my week on Skye was how crazily busy the island is!
It would have been busy in the season and over peak holiday periods back in the 1990’s and into the new millennium before relocating back down south to Moffat in 2008 but nothing like the vast amount of campervans and cars that seemed to be parked side by side in Portree and beyond.
I don’t remember there being quite so many B and B’s as there are now and everywhere I drove there were more of them, perhaps breeding like highland coos and sheep in their eagerness to get some of the tourist pound.
A bus trip down to Sligachan and back was a journey via the tardis into distant memories of youth and a still recollection of brutal six day weeks worked for a pittance.
The beer was good, Skye Gold a particular favourite on draft and a case accompanied down through Eilan Donan, Fort William and Crianlarich to Moffat, which seems quiet and idle in comparison.
People!
First night out at The Isles and three young men up from Moffat working on the islands infrastructure and Martain Irvine who first worked on Skye at The Slig some 40 years back with Iain Campbell and his family who owned the hotel for over a century.
Martain still helps out in Portree working a few hours a week doing prep. and we joked about sending in an invoice for the hell of it!
“As if Frankie!”
Wee Jim was there alive and at the bar in the unchanged Tongadale just across from the old offices on Wentworth Street. One pint and a quick blether was good and no need to work a shift in The Royal where surely most chefs on Skye have covered the yards of the humongous kitchen, which always felt back to front in the last century.
Bank Holidays
Don’t get it!
The Royal Bank of Scotland in Portree was a great and supportive bank to a young man trying to get a business off the ground.
Check written to the wrong account, no probs Murdina just changed it and banked it.
Roddy, the manager who ran with Iain Cambpell, showed how to set money aside for a month to get some interest and David and John on the tills were always keen and helpful.
Scott stayed on at 1820, which has a pool table and saved the day for now.
Skye was good and much had changed but lots, like The Cuillin moutains remain the same.
It is something to look forward to every January when all is dark and cold, three days and nights in St Andrews in Fife, golf with friends at the esteemed and world famous courses of St Andrews Links, which are available when booking in advance, in the winter at some £200 for three games, free range balls and a £25 food and drink voucher.
Accommodation? The Premier Inn for £50 to £60 a night, not a hugely expensive trip when often the micro climate in the East Neuk of Fife, can keep the rain and wind at bay, not always but in the four years we have had one day out of 12 when the course was shut due to the weather.
We ate on the second night at Hotel Du Vin, on the Scores and my, how the food impressed!
Two courses for less than £25 and a small glass of wine for £3.50. It was buzzing in January. Bistro Style but cooked superbly, my home cured salmon starter with home-made bread and a dainty quenelle of a mix of green herbs and butter.
Mark, who used to own the Smugglers in Auchencairn when I was young and needed a job, and Colin, my former neighbour in Moffat both had the Cassoulet as a main course and rated in incredibly highly.
I hadn’t thought about the Hotel Du Vin in St Andrews until flicking through the 2026 AA Restaurant Guide Book just now. It more than deserves it’s AA Rosette and hopefully, all being well we will pop in next January for an early dinner, without breaking the bank, although the five course tasting menu with an accompanying wine flight for £65 is not without appeal, but maybe not best for a clear head and a game of golf!
National Minimum Wage (NMW), Making Tax Digital and Compulsory pensions.
Changes have been made since 2018.
Up until March 2019 NMW for 18 to 20 year olds was £5.90. As of the 1st of April 2026 for 18 to 20 year olds will be £10.85, an increase over 7 years of £4.95 per hour.
The increase for apprentices has gone up from £3.70 per hour to £8 per hour from 2019 to April 2026.
For those 21 and over from 1st of April 2026 NMW will go up to £12.71, as of March 2019 the NWM for those 25 and over was £7.83.
Employer’s National Insurance (NI) contributions from April 2025, raising the rate from 13.8% to 15% and lowering the Secondary Threshold (where employers start paying) from £9,100 to £5,000 annually, though the Employment Allowance increased to £10,500 to help small businesses offset these costs, as announced in the 2024 Autumn Budget.
Below is a quote from the government website regarding the new changes from April 2026 regarding Making Tax Digital.
“Making Tax Digital for Income Tax starts in April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000.
· Making Tax Digital for Income Tax goes live on 6 April 2026 – supporting the government’s Plan for Change to deliver economic growth”
UK compulsory workplace pensions (Automatic Enrolment) began in October 2012, phased in by employer size, with all eligible employees now included by 2018, making it mandatory for most workers to save for retirement, though they can opt-out. The system, stemming from the Pensions Act 2008, was a response to declining pension saving, gradually increasing contribution rates until reaching the full 8% (3% employer, 5% employee) by April 2019.
National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates
The hourly rate for the minimum wage depends on your age and whether you’re an apprentice.
This page is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).
You must be at least:
· school leaving age to get the National Minimum Wage
· aged 21 to get the National Living Wage - the minimum wage will still apply for workers aged 20 and under
Current rates
The rates change on 1 April every year.
21 and over
18 to 20
Under 18
Apprentice
April 2025
£12.21
£10
£7.55
£7.55
April 2026
£12.71
£10.85
£8
£8
Apprentices
Apprentices are entitled to the apprentice rate if they’re either:
· aged under 19
· aged 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship
Example
An apprentice aged 21 in the first year of their apprenticeship is entitled to a minimum hourly rate of £7.55.
Apprentices are entitled to the minimum wage for their age if they both:
· are aged 19 or over
· have completed the first year of their apprenticeship
Example
An apprentice aged 21 who has completed the first year of their apprenticeship is entitled to a minimum hourly rate of £12.21.
Previous rates
The following rates were for the National Living Wage and the National Minimum Wage from April 2018.
Rates from 1 April 2024
From 1 April 2024 the National Living Wage has been for those aged 21 and over.
21 and over
18 to 20
Under 18
Apprentice
April 2024
£11.44
£8.60
£6.40
£6.40
Rates between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2024
Between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2024 the National Living Wage was for those aged 23 and over.
23 and over
21 to 22
18 to 20
Under 18
Apprentice
April 2023 to March 2024
£10.42
£10.18
£7.49
£5.28
£5.28
April 2022 to March 2023
£9.50
£9.18
£6.83
£4.81
£4.81
April 2021 to March 2022
£8.91
£8.36
£6.56
£4.62
£4.30
Rates before 1 April 2021
Before 1 April 2021 the National Living Wage was for those aged 25 and over.
25 and over
21 to 24
18 to 20
Under 18
Apprentice
April 2020 to March 2021
£8.72
£8.20
£6.45
£4.55
£4.15
April 2019 to March 2020
£8.21
£7.70
£6.15
£4.35
£3.90
April 2018 to March 2019
£7.83
£7.38
£5.90
£4.20
£3.70
Not Out but not really much about
16th January 2026
The month January has usually been an exceptionally quiet month for relief work, a good time to be on holiday as many of the Chefs seem to do, heading off in the winter to Thailand or Spain, not a bad idea at all.
There have been a couple of relief jobs in but there are upwards of 40 chefs marked available on the relief database so your chances are quite slim of getting work on relief so please do consider other options.
This will change as time moves on through late winter into spring and then into the summer when there will be far more relief jobs than relief chefs available.
There have been times in the last ten years when very good relief chefs well known to CIS with a 100% track record for completion along with excellent feedback via references and finish forms, have been kept in work all year round. That is not currently the case and pitching up and staying the course is not enough, we do actually expect a high quality of work and effort to go with the premium rates for CIS relief work.
Permanent jobs have also been fairly quiet, there are currently just less than 30 permanent and seasonal jobs on the CIS website which compares with 25 this time last year but there were 55 at this time of the year in 2020 before lockdown.
Times do change as all football managers know, poor results can often result in change, although not many chefs will be able to smile quite as much as Amorin at Man United when he was given the heave ho with some huge settlement.
Closer to home in Aberdeen, despite a fantastic cup win for the Dons in 2025 Jimmy Thelin after a blistering start had a pretty shitty track record in the league and off he went to spend more time with his family after a year and a half commuting from Sweden.
The last year I have been to see Nottingham Forrest take on the might Man City in Manchester, further down to Nottingham to watch Everton score in the last minute to win one nil. A long treck.
Carlisle is a bit closer to Moffat and a great atmosphere and some superb football is played, and often my neighbour Dave will drive us to Lockerbie and get the train to Carlisle, a quick mile walk and sometimes a pint of John Smiths for less than a fiver in the Jimmy Glass stand..what is not to like?
So back in Aberdeen I felt that I should pop along to Pittodrie for the first time since the late 1970’s when the Dons played Spurs complete with Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa, 1978 World Cup Winners with Argentina.
I went online and bought a ticket and on the day got the free bus down from Maidencraig with a little apprehension, not much. It took me a while to find where my ticket was for one of the stands, The Merkland Stand.
I was pointed down the front where my seat was and noticed lots of young men with black jackets and balaclavas. I walked in asking them politely to move with my green Superdry jacket and coloured bonnet, there were a few large flag poles which I carefully moved before taking my seat in amongst the lively fans.
The game started and they all stood up and started singing. I thought it best to do likewise, albeit making a decision at half time to head up the back, grab a pie and take the walk back to Union Street for a quick pint in the relative calm of Wetherspoons.
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