A MCDONALDS restaurant is offering workers a £500 sign on bonus amid reports that nobody wants to work for them, it was reported.
A branch in Sydney, Australia was forced to resort to cash incentives amid the ongoing critical shortage of workers in the country.
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According to 9News, the sign on bonus was not universal, but franchises had been given the power to get creative with their recruitment methods in tough times.
A spokesman for the restaurant, located in city of Chatsword, later confirmed the bonus was no longer available to workers – but hinted that the chain is still struggling to find staff in some areas.
“Across the country, McDonald’s has over 8000 jobs available across crew, management, barista and maintenance roles,” they said.
“Our restaurants are actively hiring and looking for people of all ages and experience levels to embark on a career with McDonald’s.
“McDonald’s offers flexible working hours and outstanding training and development initiatives, including the opportunity for employees to pursue externally recognised qualifications in the retail, hospitality and food service industries.”
The fast-food chain isn’t the only organisation having difficulties in finding workers, amid Australia’s staff shortage.
Companies in the country’s mining section have offered jobs with £80,000 starting salaries and £7,000 signing bonuses in a bid to find staff.
Positions available include auto electricians in Queensland who could start with a salary of nearly £80,000 ($140,000).
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The job offers also include automation engineers, metallurgists and geologists- all coming with a salary of between £57,000 and £73,000.
And some other companies have resorted to offering a £7,000 sign-on bonus ($10,000) and a £3,000 referral bonus ( $5,000).
And an Australian MP has pleaded for fruit pickers to step forward to sort this season’s bumper crops.
MP Anne Webster branded the shortage of staff willing to take up the £4,000-a-month job a “tragedy in the making”.
Ripe fruit is being left to rot away on the ground due to the lack of workers – and it could cost the country millions.
The shortage of workers has largely been accredited to the covid pandemic and border shutdowns – which saw backpackers leave the country in droves.
In an attempt to avert a disaster, the government set up a scheme last January to lure in locals to pick up the slack – worth up to $6,000 (£3,300) for Australian workers and up to $2,000 (£1,100) for international job seekers.
But retailers are still finding staff so hard to come that some companies are now at risk of financial collapse, a national retail peak body has warned.
According to Australian Retailers Association (ARA), the search for new employees has got worse through the year – and companies have even begun harnessing the work power of retired pensioners.
It earned calls for the federal government to relax income restrictions on retirees who could fill critical labour gaps.
