Sarah Guthrie is grateful she no longer feels the pressure of living “pay check to pay cheque”.
The 20-year-old Wellington student and part-time worker at Huxley’s is one of hundreds who has just been given a pay rise, as part of parent company Kāpura’s pledge to pay all employees a living wage of at least $23.65 per hour.
“It will prevent me from living pay check to pay check. It will allow me to put a bit away each week,” Guthrie said.
Kāpura, which employs more than 1000 people across hospitality sites in Wellington, Hamilton, and Tauranga, has rolled out living wage adjustments to all employees currently paid between minimum wage and $31.41.
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Kāpura director Andrew “Will” Williams says the increase was “the right thing to do”.
More than 84% of Kāpura employees received an increase as a result, with about 200 of those previously on minimum wage.
While Guthrie was earning above the minimum age, the pay bump to a living wage would help her to continue living in Wellington where she is most of the way through studying towards a Bachelor of Health.
She said it was a struggle to keep up with rising costs, with rent and food the greatest expenses.
The extra dollars Guthrie could now put aside would help her to save for future goals, like travel, to visit her family or enjoy more social activities outside of work.
It also made her feel more appreciated, she said. She was also more likely to offer to pick up extra shifts or lend a hand when needed.
“Sometimes as a part-time work you do feel undervalued like what you do doesn’t matter. Now it makes me excited for work.”
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Wellington student Sarah Guthrie, a part-time front of house wait staff at Huxley’s,left, and assistant manager Ruby Thomas were both thrilled to hear the company has rolled out the living wage.
Assistant manager Ruby Thomas was also excited though she was being paid above the living wage before the announcement on Wednesday.
“Starting from front of house to assistant manager the pay goes up but unfortunately so does the cost of living.”
She thought it would help encourage new staff, and represented a shift in how hospitality workers were valued and paid.
Kāpura director Andrew “Will” Williams said the move meant those paid the lowest, received the largest raise.
“We think it’s the right thing to do,” he said.
It was something the group had wanted to do for a long time. The impacts of Covid-19 still lingered – the labor shortage at its worst currently – but the group now had increased certainty about the sector’s future.
He said the living wage would help staff combat inflationary pressures, while allowing the company to attract and retain “really great” staff.
The roll-out followed several months of talking and listening to staff and months of planning.
While not the first hospitality business to do so, Williams hoped as a larger player it would be a positive step in showing other companies they could do it too.
He said they were well-versed in wage increases through the shifting minimum wage standards and said the business would “outrun” increased costs through higher volumes of returning customers.
The difference it made to staff morale was already noticeable, with Williams adding: “I haven’t seen them smile like that for a while.”
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Matt McLaughlin, of Hoff Hospitality Group, is excited about the move which he said most hospitality businesses would hope to follow (File photo)
Matt McLaughlin, of Hoff Hospitality Group, was excited by the news and said it was something most in the sector would aspire towards.
“If Kāpura is in a position and is robust enough to do that, I think that’s fantastic.”
Whether other businesses would be able to follow suit depending on their respective positions, adding it had been “pretty tough” lately
He said while the industry was “traditionally low pay”, staff were even more important than customers.
Businesses had to what they could to attract and retain staff though, and this included raising wages, he said.
While low margins and high costs meant it wasn’t always possible to pay higher wages, there were other ways for businesses to help staff with the rising cost of living through other staff incentives like a free meal while on duty.