Over half of hospitality workers have faced unsafe or unacceptable behaviour in the past year, new survey finds
More than half of hospitality workers have experienced inappropriate, unsafe or unacceptable behaviour in the last 12 months, according to a new industry-wide survey.
That number rises from 52% of respondents who have experienced the behaviour over the past year to 65% who say they have experienced it at some point in their career.
The findings come from VERiFAIR (a play on words of verified and fairness), the independent standard for responsible hospitality employers founded by Justine Murphy, in its first industry-wide survey of employees and employers across the sector.
Of those who have experienced poor behaviour, 80% say it happened within the last year – evidence, VERiFAIR says, that this isn't a legacy issue, but one playing out in hospitality workplaces today.
A gap between policy and practice
The survey also exposes a significant disconnect between what's written in staff handbooks and what actually happens on shift.
Fewer than one in six respondents work somewhere with clear behaviour policies that are always followed day to day, and more than half (56%) believe appropriate action will not be taken when a concern is raised.
That lack of confidence has a direct knock-on effect on whether people speak up at all. Only 42% of respondents say they would feel comfortable raising a concern about workplace behaviour or culture, and among those who don't believe action will be taken, that figure drops to just 20%.
The impact on retention is stark, with 58% of respondents saying they have considered leaving a role because of workplace culture or behaviour – a figure that rises to 81% among those who have experienced poor behaviour, compared with just 12% among those who haven't.
The survey, which gathered responses from 3,140 people across the UK and Ireland between March and July 2026, also found that voice within hospitality is not evenly distributed.
Frontline and junior staff are far less likely to feel able to speak up than senior management, with just 31% of frontline/junior respondents comfortable raising a concern compared with 63% of senior managers, and only 21% believing action will follow compared with 56% at senior level.
There's a clear appetite for independent verification to change that. Over two thirds, 67%, of respondents say a verified fairness standard would influence their choice of employer, rising to 79% among those who don't currently feel able to raise concerns – exactly the group VERiFAIR's confidential reporting system is designed to reach.
One anonymous respondent told VERiFAIR: "I think one of the biggest issues in hospitality is that behaviour which would be unacceptable in many workplaces is often brushed off as 'just the industry'."
Another put it more bluntly: "Passion is
used as a reason to accept things that wouldn't be acceptable in other industries. Loving what I do shouldn't mean accepting poor treatment."
"A responsible workplace shouldn't just be something a business says it has"
Justine Murphy, founder of VERiFAIR, said: "A responsible workplace shouldn't just be something a business says it has.
"The VERiFAIR Standard independently verifies it, with accountability built in, all year round. I created VERiFAIR because responsible employment should be demonstrated in practice, not simply promised on paper.
"Hospitality deserves a standard that gives good employers a way to prove it, and their people an independent voice when it matters."
It's a message that builds on what Justine told The Staff Canteen when VERiFAIR launched, when she said that "looking after your people isn't separate from excellence – it's part of it."
This new survey gives that argument an evidence base: rather than relying on businesses to self-certify their culture, VERiFAIR independently verifies that workplace policies are not only in place but actually being implemented and maintained, with businesses that pass subject to annual re-verification.
Verified businesses also give staff access to VERiFAIR's confidential reporting system, giving employees an ongoing, independent route to raise concerns.
What happens next
VERiFAIR says the survey provides an evidence-led baseline from which it can measure change across the industry over time, with the Hospitality Workplace Survey set to run annually.
The findings will be discussed in more detail at The Future of Hospitality Workplaces industry breakfast and panel discussion at HIDE on 6 October.
Hosted and moderated by Justine, the panel will bring together Lauren Linford of Home Hospitality, Nathaniel Mortley of 2210 by NattyCanCook, Sally Abé of Teal by Sally Abé, Allen Simpson of UKHospitality and Sunaina Sethi, co-founder and chief people officer at JKS Restaurants. The event is held in partnership with Lightspeed and supported by CODE Hospitality.
VERiFAIR is open to businesses across the industry, from restaurants, bars and hotels to cafés, pubs and independents, and is supported by an advisory panel that includes Adam Handling MBE, Sally Abé, Jeremy Chan of Ikoyi, Rafael Cagali of Da Terra and Stuart Ralston of Aizle Hospitality Group.
The full 30-page VERiFAIR Hospitality Workplace Survey 2026 Industry Report, including the complete breakdown of findings, is available to view at secure.verifair.com/survey.
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Over half of hospitality workers have faced unsafe or unacceptable behaviour in the past year, new survey finds
