According to news reports from the BBC and the Sunday Times, the company is struggling to fill staffing vacancies.

Customers also are being pressed into service by restaurant chain Caravan to introduce candidates who go on to be hired in return for vouchers, the reports claim.

A severe staffing shortage has hit the hospitality industry, just as pubs, restaurants and cafes have been allowed to reopen indoor seating from the winter lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Hawksmoor co-founder Will Beckett told the BBC he wanted to redirect the recruitment budget “at our own staff, who’ve had financial problems while on furlough. So instead of a huge amount spent on recruitment websites or agencies, we did this policy”.

The Hawksmoor plan sees staff get a bonus of £200 for the first friend they recruit who is hired after passing a one-month trial, £300 for the next one and up to £2k for five friends, news reports say.

The BBC report quoted figures from Broadbean Technology that say vacancies in UK hospitality soared 77% from the previous month. However, compared with April 2020, the number of applications slumped 82%, the report said.

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