Employment and industrial relations in the hotels and restaurants sector

Gerogiannis, Ilias; Kerckhofs, Peter; Vargas, Oscar

Abstract

The hotels and restaurants sector (Horeca) in Europe is a
sector largely dominated by small and medium-sized
businesses (SMEs). It is very labour-intensive, which
means that economic growth has a strong impact on
employment. Hotels and restaurants are major employers
of young people and there are more women than men
working in the sector. During peak periods, large numbers
of seasonal workers are hired in addition to permanent
staff. The Horeca sector accounts for a substantial
number of companies and workers across Europe,
particularly in countries where the tourist industry is
important.
Recruiting workers into the sector can be problematic, due
mainly to the nature of some of the working conditions:
long working hours, relatively low wages and high levels
of temporary and seasonal work. The social partners have
an important role to play in shaping working conditions
and making the sector more attractive to a young and
skilled workforce. However, the structure of the sector,
with a pre-dominance of small companies, is not
conducive to the development of social dialogue and
collective bargaining, and this impacts on the sector as a
whole.
This report describes current working conditions in the
sector, highlighting the most relevant issues, outlining
industrial relations structures and looking at the
contribution of the social partners to improving the quality
of work and sustainability of the industry. The report is
based on contributions from the European Relations
Observatory (EIRO) network of correspondents in the EU
27 countries and Norway.

• Report Type: Research Report
• Publication Date: May 17, 2012
• Deposit Date: Jan 25, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 26, 2023
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10360517
• Publisher URL: https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/sites/default/files/ef_files/docs/eiro/tn1109011s/tn1109011s.pdf