Adam Handling Restaurant Group offers staff 'an extra week off a year for those who do not smoke or vape'

Alex South

Editor

The Adam Handling Restaurant Group has introduced incentives to encourage the team to look after their physical and mental wellbeing, including offering an extra week off a year for those who do not smoke or vape and subsidising gym memberships.

The group's founder, Michelin-starred, Adam Handling said: “We may have a controversial attitude to staff welfare compared to others in the industry, but we have an incredibly loyal and motivated group of people who love to be at work, contributing to our success. We’re a family, at the end of the day, and we are so proud to see them develop and grow."

The Group has also opened a new office and team development centre in Covent Garden, close to Frog by Adam Handling restaurant and Eve Bar, for all staff across the Group to benefit from.

“Our Group’s first priority is the wellbeing of every member of the team," explained Adam. "Unlike many restaurateurs who feel that offering fewer working hours is the answer to stronger mental health, we’re sure that enriching the working week is the real way to go for team happiness and growth.”

The Group has made a significant investment on the site in Maiden Lane, which far exceeds the amount it would need to spend to hire more staff in to cover additional days off.

Taking over the entire four-floor building, there is dedicated space for ongoing training at all levels; a full kitchen with a family-style dining room for the team - open for breakfast and dinner, with an emphasis on healthy eating (‘cheat meal’ food is only prepared one day a week) - and chill-out rooms for the team to use between and after shifts.

The training options, on-site and further afield, are designed to improve knowledge and ability, and include foraging; overseas and UK travel to understand different food and wine scenes and cultures; WSET and other recognised industry training courses as well as modules created by the Group to educate the team in sustainability; knowledge of produce and wines.

The training options also include management skills to encourage staff to build their careers within the Group.

Adam explained: “We’ve launched annual employee awards, to incentivise hard work and give back to members of our team, whether that be a KP or Bar Manager, with the chance to win up to £5k in prizes. We invest in our dedicated and loyal team members and always promote from within the company, when possible."

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