Can a company backed by some of hospitality’s biggest names push the industry to clean up its act, asks Carys Sharkey

This autumn some of the most influential figures in London’s hospitality scene gathered to discuss the issues hitting the industry. But for once, cost pressures weren’t top of the agenda. Instead, chefs and restaurateurs looked at how to raise standards across the workplace, and how to shake hospitality’s very real image problem. 

The event was put on by Verifair, which has just come out with its biennial report on working conditions in hospitality. And some of the figures are hard to swallow. I’ve experienced the Wild West of hospitality firsthand, and the conditions that turn the screw: the long hours and intense pressure. But also blurred lines between work and social life in a boozy industry that is hard to switch off from. Still, Verifair’s finding that over half (52 per cent) of respondents had experienced inappropriate, unsafe or unacceptable behaviour in the last 12 months is not a good look for the sector.

When Justine Murphy set up Verifair to tackle the problems, she did so as an insider. Having spent over 30 years working in the industry, she got to know the cracks and crevices talented workers fall into – and struggle to get out of.

“I love hospitality, but I’ve seen how much someone’s experience really does depend on who they work for. And there are some incredible, exceptional employers, but there’s also people who are experiencing treatment that should just never be accepted. So I really wanted to make responsible employers visible, and create ongoing accountability around how people are treated,” Murphy tells me.

Verifair is a body that assesses restaurants, creating a reference point for employees. To put it simply, is this a good place to work? It’s an enormous undertaking, but Murphy envisages a world where restaurants will display their Verifair plaque alongside Michelin stars. Recently Gareth Ward of double-starred Ynyshir posted a video to social media of him proudly drilling his Verifair qualification badge into a tree alongside years of Michelin awards.

“I think every business that signs up and goes through that process, like Gareth Ward, that’s another person, another voice that’s being lent. And that’s how we slowly but surely will start raising the bar and raising the standard and giving people something to work towards. And that’s how we make positive change,” Murphy says.

The web-like quality of hospitality – one that tips into codependency – is what Murphy built Verifair on, and it’s what will ultimately determine its success going forward. 

“I’ve built really great relationships with people, but I also have carved out a reputation for when I say I’m going to do something, I do it.” And Murphy has the backing to prove it. On her advisory board are some cheffing heavy hitters, including Ikoyi’s Jeremy Chan, West London restaurateur du jour Chris D’Sylva, and Teal’s Sally Abé, who has been especially vocal in raising the standards in kitchens.

I ask Abé about her experiences moulding a career in hospitality: “The biggest thing for me is the idea that fear gets the best out of people. I’ve worked in kitchens where making a mistake meant being screamed at or humiliated in front of everyone. You end up being more worried about the reaction than about fixing the problem.”

She says that loving hospitality means being honest about its shortcomings.

“For a long time, bad behaviour was excused if the chef was talented enough or the restaurant was successful enough. People would say, ‘That’s just what they’re like’, and everyone else was expected to work around it. There’s also that cycle of people running a kitchen the way they were taught, without stopping to question whether any of it was necessary.”

Abé agrees with Murphy: raising the bar in restaurants takes conscious effort. “Change has to come from the people in charge, through what they do every day,” she concludes. 

Murphy wants Verifair to change how we perceive the whole industry, and to do that, the right people need to be in the right positions. As she puts it, “we haven’t got a staffing issue. We’ve got a how people are being looked after issue.” 

At a time when so much control has been stripped out of restaurants’ hands as the sector is pressed and squeezed by rising costs, Verifair gives employers a chance to do something to prove themselves. Whether the system will keep an industry that eschews the norms of a nine-to-five in check is yet to be seen. It’s early days, but when chefs and restaurateurs from across the industry meet in two years’ time for Verifair’s next report, there is tentative hope things can be better. And Murphy has put herself at the heart of that mission.

“Responsible employers deserve recognition, and their people deserve a voice.”