stuboy

Why wouldn't they employ local people?

I think they may do rather well, I have seen plenty of Spanish people picking up sandwiches at garages.

steviedeluxe

Pret are well known in London for not hiring British people. If you have say Boots, Greggs and Pret in the same street, you'll have a good chance of finding a British employee in the first two, very rarely in the last.

"Why can't a Brit get a job at Pret a Manger?"

http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/...t-7310609.html

stuboy

Fair enough, so by that definition they don't employ Brits. They have plenty of Spanish to choose from in Spain.

That's the question isn't it. Do they not employ locals because they don't like locals and wouldn't employ them in any country they chose to operate. Or do they just prefer non-British personnel?

steviedeluxe

I think (although who knows really) that they are looking for a trendy over-qualified employee with a positive attitude despite shop wages... So it could well be they target the backpacker and transient crowd... Of course this is just speculation on my part.

megmet

That's a very old way of doing it Dom, our local council replaced that many years ago!
The new way of doing it is to have just one box in the house that is connected to the phone line (the reason for having to have a landline), the client wears a fob which they press if they need help.
On pressing the fob a call is sent to the control centre where the operator will speak to the client and ask what the problem is and if they need help.
It doesn't matter where the client is in the house the operator can still talk to them, if they need assistance the operator then contacts someone like myself by mobile, in an emergency the response would be immediate, if not then a visit would be made as soon as possible.

I used to love my work, it was very rewarding and I was able to save more than one life by my quick response.

stuboy

I don't know either. But if you are looking for an employee with a positive attitude you could do a lot worse than some of our European neighbours. If their level of English is up to it then nine times out of ten I will employ the foreigner. Why? Simple. Work ethic. They don't ring in sick when they've been on the sauce. They don't say they can't work on Saturday because it's their Mum's partners Mothers 50th birthday. They just get on with it. Let's face it, the thing that we are shite at in this country is customer service.
I love pret. I think there product is great and personally I don't give a hoot if the person that serves me is from Bratislava or Bombay.

Oh I almost forgot, there's the sister's 19th birthday, an aunt's 40th, a friends child's christening. The excuse are endless.

And here's the rub, you explain to them at their interview (the British kids) that we are busiest at the weekend and that's what they have to be available to work. "No problem, I understand "they say and then 3 or 4 weeks in to the job the excuses to start flowing.

And then there's the classics, Christ, if I had a pound for every time I've heard these.

My boyfriend doesn't like me working here because ... so I have to leave. Sorry to let you down/mess you around.

My mum doesn't like me working so late.

And when you ask them to complete and return there P46's: "I'd like to stay but can you pay me cash in hand because it will affect my benefits"?

That's not to say I haven't had some great local kids, I have. I have quite a few now.

agoreira

You do like to generalise when you say we are all shit at customer service. I agree some are, and it's sounds like you've had more than your share. Perhaps you're picking the wrong one's I know people that pay minimum wage for long unsociable hours often don't get the best employees. We spent a few days at a great hotel in a small Welsh village recently, and I congratulated the management on some brilliant staff, especially the restaurant manger. When I spoke with him he told me he was Lithuanian, as were six more of the staff, and he only started work there because the locals didn't want to work weekends! But equally I've had great service in hotels, restaurants etc with local staff, and for me you'd have to go a long way to beat the likes of M&S, John Lewis etc for customer care, they are brilliant.

EMR

If Bristol airport had to rely on local employment I think it would close down.
I don not think any of us really has an idea why that should be but sadly it is a fact of life in the UK.

Lynn R

I'm very glad I've never had to apply for a job with Pret a Manger! I'd have no objection to making sandwiches for a living if I needed to, nor washing the floors, I would work hard and be reliable, but going through all that hoopla of "Graduation Days" and smiling until your face hurts - I just could not bring myself to go along with that circus, I couldn't take it seriously.

Next time I buy something in there I will have a new respect for the person who serves me, if they are willing to put themselves through that to pay their way in life.

jimenato

And that goes for many other enterprises as well. When my mum was in a care home following a bad fall there were probably NO British born nurses/careworkers out of the dozens there.

The only word in your post I would disagree with is 'sadly'. I think it's a good thing that the UK attracts enough people prepared to do such work.

EMR

What is sad about it is what appears to be a lack of the work ethic.
I cannot understand why governments ( who cares what party ) does not make those on benefit take low paid work.
If they receive £250/week in benefits and take home £100 then they still receive a benefit top up of £150.
They are no worse off but the country is much better off
However I assume that such solutions are too simplistic for the powers that be.

agoreira

Certainly Spain is sending lots of doctors and nurses to UK, and who can blame them, thousands are without work in Spain and as the article says, they can earn double in UK. The figures without work and that are consequently leaving Spain (German has tripled it's number) are scary. It's a serious flight of talented youngsters, let's hope enough return when things pick up. I see UK hospitals were holding interviews in Madrid just recently, they still want more.
http://www.libremercado.com/2013-02-...es-1276482407/

steviedeluxe

If there's a concern over 150,000 Spanish working abroad, surely there should be a greater concern over the 4.7 million Brits moving abroad and creating a skills shortage in the UK? http://www.theguardian.com/global-de...ills-shortages

I have no fear that Spanish medical staff working in the UK (just like Polish, African, Indian etc) are doing ok for themselves, just like over the years the UK medical staff have worked in Saudi Arabia or the US.
What does concern me slightly is when over-qualified people end up stuck working in a sandwich bar or restaurant or even a call centre. I suppose these call centres taking on staff in Seville and Zaragoza, should be held up as good news, but in the long run?
http://www.portalparados.es/actualid...%28Zaragoza%29
http://www.portalparados.es/actualid...ter-de-Sevilla

cricketman

Yes its a good point that actually there are too many qualified doctors, nurses and teachers in Spain, which is why they have to look abroad for work

Why don't British people want to be doctors, nurses and teachers?

steviedeluxe

Do we know this for certain? (I have a niece who's trained to become a nurse)

Is it not possible that the system just bleeds too many skilled people away to the private sector, either at home or abroad? I don't know the answer to this, that is just a guess..