Reliable Employees

There are many issues faced by management when running a hotel, (Human Resource Management in the Hospitality industry – Michael Boella, Steven Goss-Turner 2005 page 55) reports have been created concerning problems within hotels, restaurants and public houses. One of these reports carried out on London hotels, public house and restaurants identified 10 main problems and messages for hospitality employers. These were reported in (Tourism Training Initiative Newsletter, April 1989), they included issues such as customer care and how to keep customers happy, how to maintain a good reputation, keeping a reliable group of employees.

A reliable group of employees is one of the main factors of a hotel, it cannot function without employees, as it has been discussed throughout the blog students can be attractive to employees as they are cheap to employee, will accept minimum wage and will work long hours on a part time basis. However many top established hotels may be unwilling to employ students as they can have a bad reputation as lazy and simply working for the money without showing little effort. There is also the fact that students may have to be trained as they may have little or no experience, this means another employee having to take their time to train them and it will have some cost to the employer.

However in some popular tourist areas and seaside resorts such as Brighton there are initiatives to keep students employed through a contract. Some hotels have made their employees sign a contract binding them to their job before leaving for university, this contract means they have to return to work in the same establishment during the summer months while they are off. In some respects this is an opportunity for some students as they have a guaranteed job over the summer but it ties them to their previous employment.

Overall students are useful to employees due to the huge numbers of them of them looking for employment every year and their willingness to accept lower pay, but also they offer a variety of skills such as good communication and willingness to learn.

References

Michael Boella and Steven Goss Turner (2005). Human Resources Management in the Hospitality Industry. London: Elsevier Ltd.

The balance of work and study

Although the employability of students in hotels is cheap and simple for employers as they are hired on a part time basis, working while in full time education can have harmful effects on the educational performance of the student. According to government figures more than half of full time students work during the academic year, on average full time students worked 14 hours a week, some even working up to 20 hours a week. Many students work to pay for their living costs, but the low pay means them having to work longer hours, these long hours have a pro-found effect on their ability to concentrate on their studies and a quarter of students studied admitted to missing lectures due to work, while almost one in five admitted to handing in work passed the deadline. 70% of students reported having reduced time to study, and felt increased stress levels due to combining work and their studies. (All work and low pay 2010).

The hotel and restaurant sector is reliant on casual staff, of which students make up a high proportion of. These are long hours for low pay, the average hourly rate of a retail job is £9.35 compared to the average hourly rate in a hotel which is £7.91. . (All work and low pay 2010).

As employment among students carries on growing there is a role for both trade unions and student unions to address the welfare needs of students, they must off support to students for both their work and studies commitments, and make sure that they are educated on the basic such as their minimum wage rights and offer support to make sure they are not been exploited through long hours and low pay. (All work and low pay 2010).

Employers have a duty of care towards their employees, they should understand that students although are a force of cheap labour are still in full time education and have to study at the same time. Students will put their education before their job and see work as little more than a way to earn money, this is the reason why students may get a bad press from employees and be judged as lazy and not bothered about their work.

Reference

All work and low pay (2010). Available: http://www.tuc.org.uk/extras/allworklowpay.pdf. Last accessed 15 Dec