The following examples of laws/equal opportunities in my restaurant protect the employees:
- Employment Rights Act implementing all the rights of the employees in job and business
- Sex Discrimination Act makes discrimination illegal on the grounds of sex, marriage or gender reassignment.
- Race Relations Act makes discrimination unlawful on the grounds of race, colour, nationality or ethnic origin.
- Disability Discrimination Act makes it illegal to treat someone less favourably because they are not able-bodied.
Employment Rights and Laws
- Health and safety of the employees.
- Completion of working contract (if necessary).
- Good and friendly treatment to the employees.
- Training, development and promotion.
- Right to have breaks and holidays.
- Enough payment during maternity and sick leave.
- Protection of employees’ data and personal records.
Key Personals
Since I am the owner of the restaurant, I can run both the front and kitchen. My 2 chefs who are my cousins named Ryan and Spencer Llanes will mostly operate in the kitchen to produce the food for the customers. Ryan Llanes will be the restaurant Head Chef and Spencer will be the Sous Chef. These two chefs are professional cooks for more than 4 years and they have enough experience that will suite their positions to do the job very well. The 7 other staff will run both the floor and kitchen – 4 waiters and 3 kitchen porters. They have worked in different restaurants before so they are all well experienced. After one year of the business, we are going to hire more staff to make the operation better and easier. As of now, we can run the business with reduced staff.
Training and Development
All the members of the staff needs to have enough experience so they will feel comfortable working on their positions. As of now, the training of my employees is internal. I can train my staff once I employ them so they would know how I want the restaurant to operate. I will train my waiters physically and mentally on the front especially on the dining area. I want them to be physically fit and have a good memory when taking orders to the customers. My other employees who are the kitchen helpers will also be trained internally. I want them to be versatile and flexible with their jobs because if the front is very busy I can send 1 or 2 of them on the dining area to act as waiters. My 2 chefs are professional cooks for more than four years and they have enough experience on the positions I gave them. However, I still need to train them especially on the production section. I want them to do all the things that I want on that section – the preparation of food, number of dishes, buffet etc. Every 2 weeks I am going to give my evaluation by giving them a performance sheet about their skills and development for their jobs. This can help them to be more motivated. With this kind of training, the business can produce high skilled employees that can compete in every food business in this country or maybe abroad. The next set of employees that I am going to employ must train externally. Before they can start working in my restaurant, I am going to send them to other restaurants that accept external training. External training is good because my employees can learn a lot of things before working in my restaurant and this is an advantage.
Monitoring the employees
Monitoring the employees is part of Performance Management in my business. As the owner, I consistently measure their performance and provide ongoing feedback to my employees on their progress toward reaching their goals. Ongoing monitoring provides the opportunity to check how employees are doing and to identify and resolve any problems early. I can monitor staff performance by doing the following:
- Regular staff meetings.
- Formal procedures such as appraisals.
- Informal meetings where employees can provide open and honest feedback.
- Giving them a performance sheet with my evaluation about their performance and behaviour.
Total Quality Management
In my business, I can guarantee the quality of our food and services for the good of our customers. We want to have a good name in the market when it comes to quality to gain the trust of people. If that happens, there is a huge chance of expanding the business and reach the target sales on the time we expected. People nowadays expect quality food and services from all restaurant and food businesses.
All the food that we will be serving are healthy and those people who are vegetarians can enjoy our veggie meals in low prices. The surrounding of the restaurant is very clean and presentable not only in our eyes, but most importantly to the customers. With this kind of environment, the quality of our food and services will always be on a high level. As the owner of the restaurant, it is my responsibility to ask the customers and staff about their evaluation and feedback about our food and services. Not only are people buying a meal in my restaurant, but they also paying for a certain level of service. Quality service is typically that which is prompt and courteous. That is what customers expect. I am willing to train my staff to improve their skills and to develop their mental and physical characteristics. If all my employees and myself are skilled and well trained, we can produce quality food and services.
The quality of our food and service is defined as meeting or exceeding the expectations of the customer as if promised by my restaurant. The food will be quality prepared and the services are prompt and courteous. The benefit of quality of food and service is that customers will come back and will recommend my restaurant to others. All our dishes are prepared to be delicious, but we believe that the taste of the food is not the quality of the food. The quality of our food is defined as whether it fulfils its stated and implied specifications. The customer expects the food to be what is promised on the menu, to be cooked and prepared properly, to be clean and to have the correct flavour. That is what we considered quality food. We believe that quality food does not mean healthy food or gourmet food. It is simply what was promised.
Quality Assurance
This refers to the customers satisfaction by ensuring that the restaurant reached the certain quality that the customers expect from my business. I can do this by making an evaluation and performance chart on how the restaurant develops to satisfy the needs of the market especially the customers. The dining area and kitchen will be cleaned everyday to the stop the growth of germs and bacteria that can endanger the health of the customers. With this kind of way, quality is always on high level.
Food Hygiene Certificate – as the owner of the business, I have received a Food Hygiene Certificate from CIEH Foundation to ensure that as the food handler, I have met the training requirements of the Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations and are fully conversant with the practical procedures and methods of applying food hygiene in the workplace. My business has regular visits from the Food Standard Agency that carries out a range of work to make sure that our food is safe to eat, including funding research on chemical, microbiological and radiological safety, as well as food hygiene and allergy. The details of our day-to-day work on safety and hygiene, including the policy of the business are being examined by the Agency.
Food Hygiene Inspections
The restaurant is going through inspections regularly under the EHOEHPO. The Environmental Health Officers and Environmental Health Protection Officers are the authorised officers that has the authority to enter food premises at all reasonable hours and as a general rule without prior notice. The purpose of food inspection is to:
- To identify contraventions of and ensure compliance with food safety legislation.
- To identify potential risks arising from the activities carried out in the food business and to ensure that appropriate controls have been developed and are being properly implemented. This is often referred to as a 'Hazard Analysis'.
- To offer advice about good food hygiene practices.
Each and after the inspection, the officer will write a report to me as the proprietor of the food business, detailing any matters which were apparent at the time of the inspection and which require attention. The report will specify those statutory requirements that are not being complied with and what action must be taken to comply with the law. In addition, advices on good practice are included.
Physical Resources
The physical resources for my business will be responsible for the building and grounds maintenance. The restaurant surround must be clean and well organised so the customers can relax and feel comfortable. All the members of the staff are required to clean the grounds and surrounding of the restaurant. Once or twice a week, there will be a general cleaning to maintain the cleanliness.
My business can assure the safety of the customers and employees. There are security cameras that will be fitted within the area of the business to prevent any chance of crime and burglary. These cameras can monitor all the activities of the restaurant.
Kitchen Equipments
- Set of knives, chopping boards - £600
- Gas Burners, Wok - £9,000
- Ovens, microwave ovens, rice cookers, steamers, grills - £1020
- Food pans - £900
- Chafing dishes - £1000
- Frying pans, trays, platters - £800
- Cutlery Set - £1500
- Food carriers - £500
- Food containers - £400
- Steel casseroles, pots - £1000
- Serving spoons - £500
- Refrigerators and freezers - £2200
- Aprons - £100
- Other kitchen utensils - £100
- Washing Machine, Washer - £400
Dining Area Equipments
- Plates, bowls, saucers - £1000
- Spoons, forks, knives - £900
- Food warmers - £500
- Sets of glass - £930
- Tables - £1500
- Hot plated tables - £18000
- Chairs - £800
- Furnitures - £800
- Security cameras - £700
- EPOS system and computer equipments - £8000
- Centralised heater - £500
I will be spending £53,650 for the equipments and £15,000 for fixtures and fittings of the restaurant.
Legal Forms
Business ownership (Sole Trader) – being the business owner, I should know how the restaurant will be structured. This decision took long-term implications so I consulted an accountant and attorney to give me legal advices on setting up my business. The restaurant must have legal documents and papers to operate e.g. Legal Terms, Licence and Permits.
Business License and Permit – before I can open my business, I should contact a business license department to find out about getting a business licence which essentially grants me the right to operate my business in Stechford. To get a legal variance, I must present them my business plan with my educational and working certificates so they can review my background information as the business owner. As a sole trader, I must also contact both the Contributions Agency and the Inland Revenue and register by filling in one form - CWF1. On this form I will choose to pay National Insurance contributions every month by direct debit and my contributions will be charged at the same rate each week.
Alcohol License – the restaurant’s alcohol license is an “On-Sale License”. On-Sale licenses are for businesses such as bars and restaurants that sell alcohol for consumption on the premises.
Tax and National Insurance Contributions – for my employees, I am the one responsible for deducting income tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) from their wages, and must also pay the employer's share of the NICs.
Financial Resources
This section is the application of a set of techniques that my business will use to manage the financial affairs, income and expenditures. It will mange the money coming in and out, for example paying bills, paying the wages, keeping the books. The bank might aggregate the activities of the restaurant, so it is good to choose the right bank for any business.
Start up Costs – the equipments and fixtures and fittings will cost me £68650 and £500 for promotion. £800 for stocks on the first month and £50 for stationeries.
Running Costs (Fixed and Variable)
These figures are the running costs of my business. Below are the lists of my estimated figures:
Variable Costs
- Wages/Salaries - £10,000 to 10,642 per month
Fixed Costs
- Loan Repayments - £971.49
Records
Capital - £70,000
- Equipments - £53,650
- Fixtures and Fittings - £15,000
- Promotion - £500
- Stocks (for the first month) - £800
- Stationeries - £50
Total - £70,000