Panic in Majorca as restaurants forced into dramatic move in holiday nightmare
British holidaymakers’ favourite spots across Majorca could face major disruptions as restaurant owners sound the alarm over a devastating labour crisis gripping the sun-drenched Spanish island. Desperate hospitality bosses are warning that the region's culinary talent pool has been "destroyed," forcing venues into a dramatic rethink to survive.
Sector leaders are now pushing for a radical return to in-company apprenticeship schemes to combat a severe shortage of qualified staff, soaring absenteeism and a shift in worker attitudes since the pandemic. Restaurant owners report that finding skilled workers has become almost impossible, with basic qualification standards virtually disappearing from the industry. Industry bosses have pointed to shifting workforce priorities and a stark decline in commitment among younger staff, who increasingly prefer to work intensely during the summer season before claiming unemployment benefits for the rest of the year.
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This lack of loyalty has left frustrated proprietors admitting a clear preference for hiring "40-year-olds with mortgages" who "offer more stability and commitment" than unreliable 20-somethings, the Majorca Daily Bulletin reported.
Compounding the crisis, rampant absenteeism and sick leave have reached staggering levels – with some venues reporting up to almost a third of their staff missing at once – thereby increasing workloads for the remaining employees and threatening daily service across the island.
"It's the worst thing that can happen to a restaurant. I've had up to 30% of my staff on sick leave," said César Amable of PIMEM-Restauracion, adding that a significant portion is related to mental health issues.
Industry heads from employers' associations CAEB Restaurants Mallorca and PIMEM have warned that current vocational training models have completely failed. Juan Miguel Ferrer, president of CAEB, compared the situation to a top football club losing its entire pipeline: "It's like if FC Barcelona were to lose its youth academy. You'd be missing all those young players and you'd have to recruit from elsewhere."
Mr Amable has insisted that bringing back hands-on apprenticeships is "fundamental" to rebuilding that pipeline, warning that previous efforts through classroom vocational training "haven't worked".
To fix the growing emergency, business leaders are demanding an overhauled system that allows staff to learn on the job while offering realistic hiring costs for trainees. Under current rules, venue owners have argued it is unsustainable to pay an unseasoned apprentice the same wages and social security contributions as a fully qualified waiter.
Senior staff also reportedly lack the motivation to train newcomers when pay remains identical across the board. Instead, hospitality bosses are calling for flexible six-to-twelve-month apprenticeship frameworks to help rebuild the island's struggling service industry from the ground up.