During the Semaine des métiers du tourisme (Tourism Professionals Week), Olivia Grégoire, the Tourism Minister, said the government is working on solutions to aid seasonal recruitment. 

“There is a structural problem in the sector which recurs every year but which has become more pronounced since the Covid crisis”, she said.

Businesses will be able to count on EU citizens to fill certain roles, but Brits may find themselves frozen out in the height of summer because post-Brexit rules make it more difficult and costly to employ them.

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With some 200,000 roles currently vacant in the hotel and restaurant sector alone, recruiters have kicked off their summer campaigns much earlier than usual, with numerous incentives in an effort to tempt workers.

The number of vacancies is traditionally even higher for the peak July and August period, but no figures are yet available.

 “Whereas some used to post [job] offers only a few days before the start of the employment period, recruiters are now launching weeks beforehand to find their needs,” according to a statement from StaffMe, a platform specialising in occasional jobs for students.

A survey carried out by the recruitment platform found that flexible hours, geographical proximity and pay were the three most important factors for young people looking for a summer job.

The StaffMe platform has been running seasonal recruitment ads since the beginning of April. The number of summer jobs in the hotel and restaurant sector is four times higher than in the previous quarter, nearly three times higher for events businesses and 2.2 times higher in sales.

Hourly rates are higher than for the same jobs outside peak periods, with employers offering fortnightly seasonal contracts rather than more-traditional weekly ones, while hours are being revised to be less onerous. In more rural areas or those especially popular with tourists, reasonable accommodation is also a consideration, according to the minister’s office. 

Experts have noted that a lack of affordable accommodation for workers in Brittany hit businesses that rely on seasonal employment during the peak summer season.

The Ministry is studying ways to help business owners by, for example, reducing taxation when they buy accommodation for employees, but also to allow them to de-tax the accommodation, which until now has been taxed as a benefit in kind.

In the meantime, employers and tourist-reliant communes are finding their own solutions. Resorts are asking residents to rent rooms to workers or, at a pinch, offer a space for them to pitch a tent.

“Today, finding accommodation for seasonal employees is a sine qua non,” says Didier Chenet, president of the Groupement national des indépendants (GNI).