Overcoming Kitchen Staffing Challenges in the Public Sector

Whether serving meals in schools, hospitals, care homes, or even prisons, public sector kitchen staff play a crucial role in supporting community wellbeing and daily operations. However, for many public sector organisations, kitchen staffing challenges make it difficult to maintain a sufficiently staffed kitchen, an issue that remains both historical and ongoing.

In an infamously underfunded sector, where employers and employees alike often feel stretched to their limits, recruitment difficulties and high staff turnover often make it hard to attract and retain reliable catering staff. 

That’s where Cucumber Catering comes in. As catering staff hiring specialists and a UK leading agency, we place quality staff in the right positions and tailor our whole approach to meet the unique needs of your organisation. 

In this blog, we’ll explore the most common kitchen staffing issues facing the public sector and show how working with a dedicated catering staffing agency can help overcome them.

Why Is Kitchen Staffing Important in the Public Sector?

The role of catering staff is fundamental in all public sector organisations; meal time in places like schools, defence establishments and even prison, is considered one of the most important parts of the day. Kitchen staff aren’t just responsible for serving food, their value stretches far beyond that; their role helps to provide structure and social connection to the lives of many, often vulnerable, groups. 

When such significance is placed upon a particular element of an organisation, it’s not difficult to appreciate the pressure that the staff responsible may feel. From a service delivery perspective, smooth, timely meal provision reflects well on the organisation. Whereas delays or poor-quality food can trigger complaints and lead to inspections or interventions.

In order for every mealtime service to run efficiently, a well-staffed kitchen is vital. An understaffed kitchen puts significant pressure on existing workers, affecting not only their performance, but also their morale, wellbeing, and likelihood of staying in the role. This can quickly lead to a downward spiral of burnout, mistakes, and even more staff leaving, exacerbating the entire staffing issue.

Common Kitchen Staffing Challenges in the Public Sector

In public sector kitchens up and down the country, there is a growing pressure to maintain essential catering services, but resources are becoming increasingly limited. Below are the some of the most common kitchen staffing challenges faced by public sector employers:

• Recruitment Difficulties: attracting quality kitchen staff has become increasingly difficult due to a dwindling talent pool. During Covid, furloughed kitchen employees had time to reflect on their role and the negative culture surrounding it. Long, often unpaid hours caused many to leave the profession in favour of something less demanding. Public sector pay rates also struggle to compete with private hospitality, making it harder to recruit chefs, kitchen assistants, and catering managers.
• High Staff Turnover: Many public sector kitchens experience frequent staff turnover, especially in temporary or part-time roles. Workers may leave for better-paid positions, more flexible hours, or less grueling environments, creating ongoing disruption and resource gaps.
• Compliance: Strict food safety, hygiene and safeguarding standards must be adhered to in all public sector catering jobs. All staff need appropriate training and, in many settings such as schools or care homes, a valid DBS check. This creates delays in onboarding and limits who can step into roles at short notice.

How to Find Reliable Kitchen Staff for Public Sector Catering

Organisations can choose to recruit in-house but this often takes up more time than anticipated and relies on already strained resources. Whilst recruiting directly can seem like the most cost-effective option, this comes with hidden challenges such as handling compliance and ensuring consistency. 

Another option is to consult a general recruitment firm to do the work for you. Whilst this alleviates some of the pressure, generalist firms work across all industries, which means they often lack the specific, in-depth understanding of what makes a great kitchen assistant, chef, or catering manager.

The most reliable option is to outsource your recruitment to a specialist agency. Cucumber Catering focuses solely on kitchen and catering staff. We understand the pace, demands, and structure of a public sector kitchen, and we know how to match the right people to the right roles.

Temporary vs Permanent Kitchen Staffing Solutions

Both temporary and permanent staffing solutions have their place in catering recruitment but it’s important to understand which works best for which scenario. 

Permanent staff provide consistency and continuity; they’re more likely to work well as part of a team and support communication. They can also be considered a long term investment; if adequate training and development is provided, permanent staff are more likely to step into management roles. 

However, permanent staff can often take longer to recruit, especially in today’s underfunded public sector kitchens where pay isn’t as attractive or competitive.

Hiring temporary kitchen staff has its benefits. It allows for greater flexibility and offers the advantage of scaling the team up or down, depending on demand. Temporary staff require minimal onboarding time and so can fill roles quickly. They also allow for better cost control; no long-term benefits or contracts are required and they can be paid by the hour. 

The caveat, however, is that temporary staff tend to be less invested in your organisation and may not perform as highly. They may also vary in skill level and some time may need to be spent with them to bring them up to standard.

For seasonal demand or absence cover: temporary staff are the best solution. For long term business growth and consistency: hire permanent staff.

Why Use a Kitchen Staff Agency for the Public Sector?

Using a kitchen staff agency for the public sector offers a reliable and more efficient way to ensure compliance and consistency. Using Cucumber Catering to hire kitchen staff will not only take the weight off your shoulders but will give you access to a wider pool of talent within the hospitality industry. We have a wealth of experience in chef staffing and understand the challenges and demands within the industry. Sourcing the most suitable candidates to fill your roles is what we do best. 

We take care of every element in the recruitment process, from sourcing candidates to conducting interviews, allowing you to focus on the day to day running of your organisation.

Contact Cucumber Catering for tailored staffing solutions; whether you need a role to be filled urgently, or require ongoing support, we’ve got you covered