One of Edinburgh’s key hospitality ventures has cooked up one of the most exciting benefits packages available, in a bid to continue to grow its workforce beyond record levels.
Containing a holiday package worth £2000 plus a further £1000 in cash bonuses, the rewards await new full-time chefs and full-time hospitality team members joining one of Scotland’s busiest conference and events businesses.
To cut through the competitive jobs market, Surgeons Quarter is launching its Work Hard Play Hard recruitment campaign in a bid to be the employer of choice in the sector.
The organisation is Living Wage accredited and will provide the cash perk in the form of a £500 signing on bonus, along with a £500 end of probation reward, alongside the holiday perk after completing 12 months service. In addition, existing staff in these roles are being offered comparable benefits.
As the commercial arm for the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Surgeons Quarter has recently expanded to beyond 150 staff, with demand for its conference, events and hotel soaring as restrictions ease.
Scott Mitchell, Managing Director of Surgeons Quarter, said: “Our Work Hard Play Hard scheme offers extraordinary bonuses that we hope prospective recruits will jump at the chance of.
“Our jam-packed year of events has meant our requirement for staff has risen to new heights and we are striving to become the employer of choice as the sector booms.
“Like the majority of other hospitality firms, we faced the challenge of a skills shortage after the setbacks of the pandemic and Brexit. It is so exciting, now that we are back up and thriving, to be able to provide our recruits with this fantastic and rare opportunity.”
At the beginning of the year, Surgeons Quarter set a target of increasing staff numbers by 70% and has since seen its payroll top 150 people as demand for in-person meetings and events at its prestigious venues surpass pre-Covid levels.
Its latest recruitment scheme aims to continue building these numbers and the firm is still looking to hire hospitality team members and a number of chef roles, including senior sous, junior sous and banqueting chefs. For full time chefs joining Surgeons Quarter the organisation is uniquely placed to provide six months on site residential accommodation to help people relocate their career to the city.
Scott added: “It was really important that we were not only providing our newest recruits with financial bonuses, but that our loyal and current staff members were also reaping the well-deserved rewards.
In addition to the ‘Work Hard Play Hard’ scheme Surgeons Quarter offers an enhanced employer contribution pension plan at 7.5%. The company also aims to improve mental health by providing access to employee assistance programme, 24/7, 365 days a year as well as complimentary use of their onsite SQ Gym. Furthermore, the organisation provides access to discounted staff rates in hotels within the UK and globally plus a 30% staff discount is offered on food and beverage in all SQ outlets.
“As we enter this busy year and experience the events sector spring back to life, we know that all of our employees will be working hard and we want them to know that this will be rightly recognised.”
Surgeons Quarter promotes, sells and manages all commercial activities held within the RCSEd campus. All profits support the charitable aims of the College which are education, assessment and advancement in patient outcomes worldwide.
In addition to its four historic event venues, Surgeons Quarter also manages the 129 bedroom Ten Hill Place Hotel, high-street café 1505 and Surgeons Quarter Travel Agency.
