Pour reward

As somebody who has recently embarked on a second career in the wine industry, I have had some insight into the industry’s challenges, including low pay and a lack of diversity. While my employer (a well-known retailer) is making steps in the right direction, a job advertisement was recently highlighted to me that shows one aspect of what is going wrong.

The advertised role was at a prestigious central-London restaurant, part of a successful international chain with multiple locations. They were looking for an ‘experienced sommelier’. Sounds like a dream job – until you start looking into the details: salary £18.5k for 40 hours a week. This works out at less than £10 an hour, and is less than 75% of the London living wage of £13.15. And this is for an experienced sommelier... I’d hate to see what they offer someone starting out in the role!

While there are some benefits to factor in (two free meals a day are a big bonus if you are based in Covent Garden five days a week), there is simply no way a young person or anyone else can live on this in London without additional support or independent income. What it also means in practice is it automatically excludes virtually everyone outside an existing, privileged and largely homogenous group, completely unrepresentative of the population of this diverse city.

While we all know the hospitality industry is precarious and notorious for poor pay, this is an established and successful group trading on its reputation, and it needs to be called out for what it is – exploitative and discriminatory.

Matthew Huntingford, London, UK