6 Questions Restaurant Employees Must Ask Their Employees Before Going Back to Work During Coronavirus

Picture this, the restaurant where you were formerly employed receives money from the Federal government’s PPP loan for Coronavirus pandemic, and the restaurant calls you back to work. Restaurant workers from waiters, waitress, busboy, bar back, bartender, are essential to operating successful restaurants. You have more questions than you do answers, and you do not know where to start. What can you do?

All cities and states are independently experiencing the pinch of the Coronavirus pandemic. Most businesses laid off their employees or shut down their operations. This has hurt society and the economy. Many states have no option but to live with it. Thus, businesses are trying to reopen their operations safely and gradually. Bars and restaurants remain the most affected businesses but are safely resuming operations and calling back their staff. As a restaurant worker, you probably wonder whether to go back to your work or not. For restaurant owners adversely affected by covid, learn How to Apply for the Second Round of PPP Loan.

Millions of restaurant employees are forced into or are granted a leave of absence from work since the beginning of this global pandemic. Meanwhile, loans offered through the PP (Paycheck Protection) Program complicate resumption decisions. PPPs are loans for small businesses to keep their staff on the payroll. This type of loan, legislated and enacted in April, is for bars and restaurants to receive funds amounting to 2.5 times their monthly pay-sheet. The program suggests that this incentive is forgivable only if businesses hire back pre-pandemic workers before late June. Therefore, most restaurants are striving to get their workers back to their workstations, regardless of the government’s directive for all people to stay home. 

The PPP model is confusing, especially considering the all-time–changing state of public health, and continuous updates from Washington DC, City hall, and state capitals. Each restaurant and bar are different, as each employer distinctly approaches and manages the situations caused by the pandemic in the hospitality industry. While some employers prioritize the wellbeing of their employees, some show no care. Fortunately, most employers are now working on the best structures for their businesses to put forward with the current economic reality.

The loan emanating from Paycheck Protection Program can only be fully waived if the hospitality enterprise rehires their employees, or their equivalent, back to work. Accomplished and dedicated employees are an invaluable asset to businesses, in comparison to fresh recruits who must undergo training, which is both financially draining and time-consuming. Businesses will be rehiring and calling employees back to work soon.

In the meanwhile, bar and restaurant workers across the nation have questions regarding how the current PPP loans affect them in terms of their positions and employment status, and workers should ask their employees these pertinent questions. The following are some questions that employees need to ask their employers. Only once they are satisfactorily answered can a hospitality worker properly decide whether to go back to the workplace. Employers should prepare to clearly provide responses to these questions with all honesty.

How Will My Return-to-Work Pay Be Calculated as a restaurant worker, server, waitress, waiter, or bartender?

For PPP loans to be fully forgiven, business owners need to rehire their workers. The workers’ pay needs to be equal to or less than 25% of their pay from before the pandemic (before late June). Again, businesses must use up to 75% of the loan based on the payroll to be fully forgiven. It is not hard for most employees to figure out their pre-pandemic pay; however, it becomes a bit challenging for employees who are tipped. Many times, the employer decides how to calculate the pay.

Another question is whether you will be paid your minimum hourly wages from between January and the beginning of March this year. You should also be asking if you will receive payments equivalent to the minimum proportion your colleagues received in April and May of the previous year in 2019. Our case is a seasonal market; thus, that variation could imply hundreds of dollars each week.

It will also help if you ask the number of hours you will be paid for each week and how it compares to the number of hours you worked before closure. Consider whether you were compensated upfront and if your benefits will be matched in this pandemic period. It would help to understand that the PPP loan amount is not pegged on take-home compensation and encompasses contribution benefits your boss made between January and March of this year 2020.

What Are My Responsibilities Once I Return to Work in a Restaurant?

Most bars and restaurants are currently operating at a capacity of 50% or less. So, what does your employer want you to do upon rehire? The PPP loan is intended to substitute the position lost. Therefore, your employer should not ask you to take on outrageously afield responsibilities different from what you used to do. For instance, they should not add cleaning their houses to your job description if you were, say, a mere waiter or waitress.

How Will Me, My Space, and Customers Be Kept Safe?

Restaurant owners hold the economic power of their workers. Every employer needs to prioritize their employees and customer safety. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, new certainties and challenges have been created. Therefore, as an employee being called back to work, your employer should be able to tell you how they are prepared for these challenges. Ensure their answers are satisfactory before you return to work. If you think their answers are not satisfactory, you can ask for or suggest changes.

What If I Decline the Job Offer to Return to Work During Covid-19?

PPP is not flawless. If done with a concise enhancement of unemployment insurance benefit through the PUA (Pandemic Assistance to the Unemployed), Cadres in the low-paying position may be earning more through the unemployed benefits than what they used to previously. In other states, however, failure to accept the job one could mean losing the UI.  Many employers understand this, and so they should be more than ready to answer this question and make their employees comfortable.

 

Will I Still Work After the 8 Weeks the PPP Program Period Elapses?

PPP provides employers with an eight-week pay period for their employees. Therefore, you need to know firsthand what your fate will be once the eight weeks pay is over. One cannot predict the future; however, your employer needs to make everything clear about what will happen to your payment once the eight weeks are over. Ensure the response they provide is satisfactory before resuming work.

How Has the Coronavirus Affected Your Business Model?

How have operations at your restaurant been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic? Has your boss adjusted the business’s model of meal service frontline workers or the hungry? Well, define how to fit into the new ways of work if there are any. Also, seek to know whether you will be paid from money accrued from PPP loan, finances raised outside the loan, or both.

Today, while most restaurant employers seek the best ways to resume their business, they also think about restructuring the same businesses in ways that suit the new reality. You see, there now new realities that were initially unheard of, from reduced restaurant capacities, social distancing, and more. The future is uncertain. However, the changes that employers make now will impact your work environment for years on end.

Employers should strive to make new standards and systems secure for their customers and yourself. At the same time, they should strive to make their operations highly durable for unseen crises. Employers need to work on increasing your teams’ pay and consequently expanding benefit options.