Restaurants cutting workers hours
 

My son is visiting from Spain this month. He used to cook in one of the Country Clubs and at one of the Sumter Landing restaurants, and has been spending time with some of his old friends.

Several long term employees he has talked to have had their hours reduced to 29 per week. They refer to themselves as being affected by future national health care requirements because employers don't have to offer health insurance to workers under 30 hours per week.

Can't make for very happy employees.

Could this be in part due to the retreat of all of the snowbirds? I imagine there are cuts to restaurant staff every year after the high season.

Shame on these country clubs and restaurants for not wanting their employees to have affordable health care. The owners have theirs, but no one else deserves health care.

They can't even know what this is going to cost them since the health exchanges are not being set up until October.

What are they going to do when the season rolls around and they need help?

I agree, has to be more to this than the suggested reason.

The topic is reduction in restaurant workers hours and possible reasons for this. Please do not stray into political opinion territory or the thread will be closed.

The reduction in workers and hours is happening in all fields of business in Charlotte as well.

They will hire additional Part-Time employees.

Many reasons for this (National health care, snow birds gone, competition, etc) . . . it is almost a crime for the workers but this is Florida - a right to work state! They will have no problems getting replacement workers because in 18 months the houses will be built out in The Villages and we will have a lot of unemployed looking for any kind of work.

bob evans has for years transfered out employees out of TV to other areas when the snowbirds left..during high season you can transfer in, not trying to drop down to less than 30.... there is just not enough clients to support the staff

Before National health care so many
businesses only hired PT so they wouldn't have to pay any benefits at all! This has been going on for years! Especially in those "right to work states" like VA where I moved from. I believe it is because of the snowbirds returning north!

The OP stated that the workers told the OP's son that their hours were reduced bc the employer wanted to avoid the impending impact of the national healthcare plan, not bc of the lack of snowbird business.

Consequently, my inference is that the workers do not currently have health insurance coverage, and that their comments to the OP's son weren't that they lost health insurance coverage but instead that they lost income.

Yup.

Workers at many businesses, WalMart being the most notable, have had their hours played with for years to avoid giving them benefits.

Now that they have a scapegoat, it becomes even easier to justify in the minds of those whose primary attitude is one of; "I got mine...screw you."

Why would it be surprising, given some the stories about management documented here, that the country clubs are trying to do the same?

What's really ironic, is the fact that Spain already has a national health system.

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This is so true. This is one of the worst states to work in. They can cut your hours for no reason and they can fire you for any reason they choose. I have been out of work for 3 months now. I was fired from my last job because I was I had the audacity to ask for help lifting a 250 pound container! When one job opens around here, there are 500 applicants for it.

I also worked at Michael's for awhile until they cut my hours from 35 to 8 a week, claiming business was slow. Who can afford that?

Its all about the bottom line to stay afloat.

gocubsgo: First I am sorry your lost your job. However perhaps it would help if you knew that Employment Law (Employment At Will ) pretty much operates the same in every state. An employer can let you go with no reason. However if an emplyer states a reason it has the obligation to support its conclusions. There are exceptions. Federal State , Muncipal workers and private unions are some of th notable exceptions owing to their contracts. There are some fundamental differences such as in New York a worker can work until infinity whereas in many of the states a worker must retire at 70 1/2. The battle with social security, etc is moving those lines as we speak.

It is true that employers have for a long time intentionally cut working hours in order to reduce benefit payouts. It is usually a result of congress's passing benefit bills that employers simply cannot afford. For instance for smaller companies the Family Leave Act could send them bankrupt because they do not have sufficient workforce to leave open a job for any length of time. So many employers established office with under 50 employees so that they would be exempt. All of what I have said is subject to change because we are discussing a dynamic and ever changing environment

The misnomer Affordable Patients Act is playing havoc with many employers and they face less costs by accepting the penalty than they will in providing healthcare. Also Florida is one of those states with a shifting population owing to the number of seasonal residents. I am amazed by how these employers manage to adjust to this shifting population change.

Perpetutity of the company is the responsiblity of senior officers and directors and they will react in any manner they choose to preserve their profitability. It is ugly I agree but it is also natural law at work