By Andrew Lewis, CEO, Allara Global & Allara Learning
On 6 October, I attended VERiFAIR's Future of Hospitality Workplaces industry breakfast in London, where hospitality leaders came together to discuss the findings of the VERiFAIR Hospitality Workplace Survey 2026.
Drawing on responses from 3,140 hospitality workers across the UK and Ireland, the report explores workplace fairness, respect, behaviour and culture.
While the research focuses on the UK and Ireland, many of the challenges it highlights will be familiar to hospitality operators in Australia. Our industries share much in common, particularly when it comes to attracting, developing and retaining good people.
Some of the findings are confronting. But they also present an important opportunity to rethink how we develop, support and retain the people who make hospitality possible.
Hospitality should be an industry where people can build rewarding, long-term careers. Achieving that requires more than attracting people into the industry. We need to create workplaces where they feel respected, supported and motivated to stay.
Workplace culture is a retention issue
One of the report's most striking findings is the relationship between workplace behaviour and employee retention.
Among respondents who had experienced inappropriate, unsafe or unacceptable behaviour, 81% had considered leaving a role because of workplace culture. Among those who had not experienced poor behaviour, that figure was just 12%.
That contrast should give every hospitality operator reason to reflect. While the survey establishes an association rather than a direct causal relationship, the implications are difficult to ignore.
Businesses invest considerable time and resources in recruiting, onboarding and developing employees. But those investments are undermined when workplace culture contributes to people wanting to leave.
Workplace culture isn't simply an HR consideration. It influences an organisation's ability to retain experienced people, develop future leaders and deliver consistently high standards of service.
If we want people to see hospitality as a long-term career, we need to give them good reasons to stay.
The gap between policies and practice
Another finding deserves particular attention.
While 44% of respondents said their workplace had clear policies covering behaviour, conduct and staff wellbeing, only 36% of that group said those policies were always followed.
Taken together, this suggests that approximately 15.8% of respondents reported working somewhere with clear policies that were consistently applied.
It's a significant gap between organisational intentions and employees' everyday experiences.
Most operators understand the importance of workplace policies and compliance obligations. But having the right documents in place doesn't necessarily mean expectations are understood or consistently upheld.
In Australia, the positive duty to prevent workplace sexual harassment and obligations to manage psychosocial risks reinforce the importance of taking a proactive approach to workplace behaviour. But meeting those obligations requires more than policies and procedures. It requires consistent action, effective leadership and employees who understand what's expected of them.
The real test comes during a busy service, when tensions rise, when inappropriate behaviour needs to be challenged or when an employee raises a concern.
That's where workplace standards become visible.
For operators, a useful starting point is to look beyond whether policies exist and ask whether employees understand them, managers apply them and people experience them consistently.
Creating an environment where people can speak up
The report also found that 51% of respondents did not feel comfortable raising concerns about workplace behaviour or culture.
Only 34% agreed that appropriate action was taken when concerns were raised.
The difference between senior and frontline employees was particularly revealing. While 63% of senior staff felt comfortable raising concerns, that figure fell to 31% among frontline and junior employees.
These findings highlight the importance of leadership and trust.
Employees need to know that concerns will be taken seriously, handled fairly and followed by appropriate action.
Managers and supervisors play a critical role in establishing that confidence. Their behaviour influences how teams communicate, how conflict is addressed and whether employees feel respected and supported.
But effective leadership isn't simply an expectation we can place on managers. It's a capability that needs to be developed deliberately.
Training for behaviour change, not just completion
Effective training is one of the most practical ways hospitality operators can turn workplace expectations into consistent standards of behaviour.
For employees, training builds awareness of acceptable conduct, helps them recognise inappropriate behaviour and gives them the knowledge and confidence to raise concerns. It establishes a shared understanding of expectations across teams and venues.
Equally important is developing the capabilities of those responsible for leading those teams.
Managers and supervisors are often the first people employees turn to when something goes wrong. How they respond can influence whether concerns are resolved appropriately, whether employees feel supported and whether trust is maintained.
Leadership training therefore has a critical role to play in improving workplace culture.
Training managers in areas such as preventing sexual harassment, handling difficult conversations, communicating effectively and creating teams where people feel safe to speak up equips them to navigate situations that can have a lasting impact on their teams.
These are practical skills that can be learned, developed and reinforced over time.
For hospitality operators, the opportunity is to take a more connected approach to workforce development — combining compliance awareness with leadership development and training that supports positive workplace cultures.
Policies establish expectations. Training develops the knowledge and capabilities to put them into practice. Leadership reinforces those standards through everyday decisions and behaviour.
The goal isn't simply to complete training. It's to build capability across an organisation to create safer, more respectful workplaces where people can thrive.
Building an industry people want to be part of
Despite the challenges highlighted in the VERiFAIR report, there is good reason to be optimistic about hospitality's future.
Few industries offer the same opportunities for creativity, human connection, practical skills development and career progression.
But we cannot take people's commitment to hospitality for granted.
The report reminds us that workplace culture is shaped by everyday experiences: how colleagues treat one another, how managers lead, how concerns are handled and whether people feel they have a future within their organisation.
For hospitality leaders, there are practical steps worth considering:
- Review whether workplace policies are understood and consistently applied, rather than simply documented.
- Invest in leadership development so managers are equipped to address inappropriate behaviour, handle concerns and support their teams.
- Ask employees whether they feel comfortable raising concerns and trust that appropriate action will follow.
- Consider workplace culture, employee development and retention together as business priorities.
None of these actions provides an instant solution. Building better workplaces requires sustained leadership, accountability and a willingness to listen.
Independent standards, effective policies and ongoing training all have a part to play.
Ultimately, the opportunity for hospitality is to move beyond treating compliance, culture and workforce development as separate responsibilities. Together, they form the foundation of a stronger, more sustainable industry.
If we want people to build careers in hospitality, we need to build workplaces where they want to stay.
That's an ambition worth working towards.
Source: VERiFAIR (2026), The VERiFAIR Hospitality Workplace Survey 2026. The survey includes 3,140 hospitality workers across the UK and Ireland. Findings are based on an unweighted, self-selected sample and should not be interpreted as representative of the entire hospitality workforce.
