Career Spotlight: 10 things you never knew about working in outdoor catering
If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen – even if it is in the middle of an open field in Yorkshire! Outdoor catering is big business that attracts plenty of second jobbers, but it takes a certain type of person to thrive.
Lesley Saunt is the Company Director of saunts parties & events. She set up her outdoor catering business in 2005, after completing a degree in catering and working in the events world. Here, she gives us the low-down on the world of outdoor catering:
1. You’ve got to really love what you do. Outdoor catering is much harder than normal catering – but that’s why I enjoy it. The events world is a huge business these days and it really pays to get onsite experience to see if you can stand the pace.
2. We work when you want to party. The nature of outdoor catering means we work mainly at weekends on big events, so my social life has been halved. Some people find the anti-social hours difficult but I get a big kick out of seeing an event through to the end.
3. You need to remember everything, including the kitchen sink! Outdoor catering is essentially catering in an unusual place. This is often at venues that don’t have any facilities, so you have to remember to take everything, from the cooker to the water supply to the teaspoons.
Career Quiz: Job, Career or Calling?
How you feel about your work can have huge repercussions in everything you do. Take this quick quiz by Life Coach Sarah Cooper to find out what your attitude to work says about your happiness in life.
How would you describe the way you earn a living? Research by Amy Wrzensniewski, Professor of Management and Organisational Behaviour at New York University, shows that most people view their work either as a job, a career, or a calling.
I’ve drawn inspiration from her questionnaire to offer you a light-hearted version of the test below. Answer the questions and add up your scores to find out which category you belong to – and what that says about your satisfaction with life!
Read more…
Office Politics: challenging redundancy
Redundancy challenges are on the increase, but when can you legally challenge your redundancy? Philip Landau, employment law solicitor and partner of London law firm Landau Zeffert Weir, explains what rules apply.
With redundancies still commonplace, many employees are choosing to challenge their redundancy knowing that it may be a long time before they secure another position. It’s worth reflecting on the legal conditions that make a redundancy genuine. If you lose your job and there is a failure by your employer to follow a correct process, this could put you in a strong bargaining position to demand an enhanced redundancy. You ultimately have the right to apply to an employment tribunal for compensation.
If there is to be a genuine and legally watertight redundancy, the following must apply:
1). Your old job must have disappeared. If you are dismissed because of redundancy, this means that your employer needs to reduce the number of staff that are employed. This will be either because the place where you work is closing down, or because there is no longer the need (or expected to be the need) for you to carry out the particular kind of work that you do. Normally your job must have disappeared. It’s not a credible redundancy if your employer immediately takes on a direct replacement for you working full-time in your old role. It’s acceptable though, for your employer to amalgamate your role with a number of different roles to create a new position, and have chosen someone else to work in that position.
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