Five star Grand Dame hotel, The Landmark London, is launching a scheme to allow its chefs to work a four day week, with increased pay, as part of its continued commitment to invest in team wellbeing and improve the experience of individuals working in the hospitality industry.
The scheme has been devised by Executive Head Chef, Gary Klaner, as part of the hotel’s ambition to deliver a better work/life balance for chefs and improve the working environment in hospitality industry kitchens. Along with a four day week, the scheme will also increase pay for chefs across the hotel in recognition of the hours they work.
The scheme will start in The Landmark London’s Winter Garden Restaurant. If successful, it will be rolled out to the hotel’s other kitchens, including the Great Central Bar and the Hub, the newly opened staff restaurant depending on its success. Productivity will be maintained through a recruitment drive in January and February, which will increase the number of kitchen staff that the hotel employs.
As part of its ongoing commitment, the hotels’ owners invested £10m in state-of-the-art kitchens and back of house areas including staff facilities. The facilities include a new restaurant for team members, with its own open plan kitchens and designated team, a new academy for the team to learn and develop in a variety of skills, behaviour, cultural and management development programmes, as well as development programmes for those entering the industry.
The launch of the four day working week is part of The Landmark London’s ongoing mission to reach an outstanding level of quality in its people management, engagement and wellbeing strategy, supporting and enriching the journeys of all team members.
Led by core values of Respect, Integrity, Continuous Improvement and Fun, The Landmark London’s HR strategy is an intrinsic part of the company vision and purpose, with hotel achieving a number of accolades to recognise this. This includes achieving fourth position in the acclaimed The Sunday Times’ ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ in 2020 and achieving ‘Investors in People’ Platinum Level Accreditation in 2019. It is by nurturing its people that it ensures a personable world class service, that makes every guest experience memorable.
Nicola Forshaw, Group Director of Human Resources at The Landmark London, says: “We are delighted to be leading the way in changing chef working patterns by offering a four day working week. We prioritise investing in our team, supporting them in achieving a balanced lifestyle and this new initiative will work towards our ongoing mission to enhance their wellbeing.”
Gary Klaner, Executive Chef at The Landmark London, says: “The creative change in workdays will relieve some of the current pressure the team is under which is something they are very excited about and engaged with. It shows The Landmark London’s serious investment in our employees and the commitment to providing a healthy worklife balance for them.”
The Landmark London has, since its debut 120 years ago, remained an icon of quintessential and elegant London charm, offering guests an oasis of luxury and serenity in the heart of the capital.