'It's a change that's going to happen right the way through the industry'
Raymond Blanc: Covid has changed people's attitude to work, for better and worse
Matt Abé, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay: 'We can say, 'back in my day,' but we're not back in your day, this is today and this is the reality. The world has changed and we have to change'
'It's not just, get the employees to make as much money as possible and when we're done with them just turf them out'
'The days of unpaid overtime have to be a thing of the past and hospitality needs to be open to these changes'
'If they don't adapt, they won't survive and it's as simple as that'
The pandemic has changed the UK job market and affected people's attitudes to work, presenting both opportunities and risks, chef patron of two Michelin-starred Le Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons, Raymond Blanc OBE has said
Speaking to The Daily Mail, the chef said that while the effects of the pandemic had allowed restaurants to rethink outdated working practices and improve conditions in kitchens, there is a risk that the shift will take things too far, to the detriment of the 'spirit of the entrepreneur' that dominates in the country.
Comparing the UK to France, where a 35-hour working week policy has been in place for 22 years - mandating that any additional hours be paid as overtime - he said: "It is a nightmare because we completely murdered the sanctity of work and killed the spirit of the entrepreneur."
"It's really killed our craft in many ways, whereas England embraces liberalism and 48 hours and plus you can sign a piece of paper and you can work 50. Now it's over."
The chef stressed that the shift in attitude presents great opportunities to 'revolutionise' the hospitality sector, allowing it to to reinvent itself and abandon 'cruel' practices such as split shifts, which have indeed been dropped by many businesses in the sector, as well as more and more establishments introducing four-day working weeks.
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Raymond Blanc: Covid has changed people's attitude to work, for better and worse
'It's a change that's going to happen right the way through the industry'
Matt Abé, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay: 'We can say, 'back in my day,' but we're not back in your day, this is today and this is the reality. The world has changed and we have to change'
'It's not just, get the employees to make as much money as possible and when we're done with them just turf them out'
'The days of unpaid overtime have to be a thing of the past and hospitality needs to be open to these changes'
'If they don't adapt, they won't survive and it's as simple as that'
