Not so hospitable: Adelaide site reveals work abuse horror stories

From creepy comments to horrific rape reports, a new website is being inundated with stories of abuse behind the scenes in one of the state’s biggest industries.

More than 260 hospitality workers have told their stories of workplace harassment and abuse through a new website.

Not So Hospitable, set up by postgraduate student and hospitality worker Jamie Bucirde this week, has been inundated by reports of sexual, physical and verbal abuse.

Ms Bucirde said that, sadly, the testimonials proved what she and many others had long suspected – that there are serious workplace culture issues in our bars and restaurants.

The 26-year-old, who has worked in hospitality for the past decade, said she created www.notsohospitable.com.au as a way of highlighting the issues that have been something of an open secret in the industry.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a couple of months,” Ms Bucirde said.

“I wanted to find a way that would make people listen. Hospitality as an industry with so many facets – bars, pubs, cafes, restaurants, festivals – and because there are so many moving parts it can be hard to monitor. Things get brushed under the rug.”

Ms Bucirde said she had, on several occasions, been the victim of sexual harassment during her career.

“Sexual harassment can be verbal harassment, unwanted texts, asking for nudes, continuously asking someone out after they’ve said no, groping someone, taking advantage of someone who’s drunk right through to rape,” she said.

“There’s a wide spectrum of assault.”

Jamie Bucirde, founder of a website fighting abuse in the hospitality industry. Photo: Kelly Barnes

Ms Bucirde said the majority of the testimonials were from women, and in many cases there had been more than one incident of abuse or harassment.

She said she believed more training and education needed to be immediately implemented in the hospitality industry.

“The power imbalances are huge, and there’s a lot of drinking and a lot of drugs,” Ms Bucirde said.

“In most workplaces there are strict laws around those kinds of things, but in hospo we’re the ones the selling alcohol, we’re selling good times. Once you finish work we might have a knock-off drink, and that drink might be in your workplace. So there’s a party atmosphere, which is a lot of fun in many ways, but there’s a dark side to that too.”

Ms Bucirde said she wasn’t yet sure what the next step was for notsohospitable.com.au

“At this point in time nobody but me has read this information because I want to run this as ethically as possible,” she said.

My intention is to create a safe space for people to be able to tell these stories. Who know what happens after that. I just wanted to show how prevalent this is and shine a spotlight on it. Everyone wins if I can do that. My intention isn’t to take down powerful names – at this point. My intention is to give this the attention it deserves.”

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One young worker supporting Ms Bucirde’s campaign is Henry Minson, who quit after nine months at an inner-city restaurant.

“It’s where a lot of young people go to work, whether it’s while they’re at uni or starting out in their careers,” Mr Minson, 21, said.

“As a consequence you get a lot of people who perhaps don’t know what treatment should be out of bounds. So you get a lot of people manipulated into thinking that this is something you have to put up with. People have been getting away with that for far too long.”

Mr Minson said he experience working at the restaurant was “horrible”.

Hospitality worker Henry Minson.

“It was my first full time job in a while, and I was working 50 to 60 hours a week,” he said.

“The abuse I saw and experienced was not of a sexual nature but it was still awful. I ended up leaving after being called a homophobic slur on a busy Saturday night.

“To me that went against the core values of what I think hospitality should be – accepting and inclusive. It’s a melting pot of an industry, and it’s disgusting that the attitudes of some of the managers haven’t shifted with the times.”

Mr Minson said the fact that chefs and managers were under a lot of stress couldn’t excuse bad behaviour.

“A lot of people are under stress at work, and we don’t let people use that as an excuse in other industries,” he said.

“You should always be in control of your own behaviour.”

Mr Minson said he was still working in hospitality, and enjoying it.

“It’s not all bad news,” the law and business student said.

“There are places that respect diversity and inclusivity. Hospitality, when you’re in a solid team and right workplace, is one of the best jobs you can do.”

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The United Workers Union conducted its own survey of hospitality workers in 2021 and found that 89 per cent of the 306 respondents had experienced sexual harassment at work.

While that survey was Australia-wide, UWU allied co-ordinator Louise Dillon said the union was looking into the issue in SA.

“While very much in its infancy, the United Workers Union has begun a campaign investigating the insidiousness of sexual harassment in South Australian hospo,” Ms Dillon said.“ Once we know where to focus we will begin work on stamping out harassment to ensure safety at work for all workers; from baristas, to short order cooks, to wait staff, to hotel cleaners.

“We know from other states that harassment has always been a feature of hospo and it is usually gendered. The highly casualised nature of the industry means it is difficult for victims to provide formal complaints because they fear losing shifts, or their job entirely.”

Australian Hotel Association SA deputy general manager Anna Moeller said the roughly 550 venues that were members of the association were well supported in the training space.

“Not only is training delivered, that training can be tailored to meet their needs if required,” Ms Moeller said.

“There’s a whole range of tools, resources, templates and recommended policies that members have access to on our website, and there’s also the capacity for them to ring in or get face-to-face advice.”

All reports to www.notsohospitable.com.au can be made anonymously