Le Reflet in Nantes, Cafés joyeux in Rennes then in Paris, or even La Belle Etincelle, inaugurated in Paris in June 2021 by Sophie Cluzel, the Secretary of State in charge of disabled people… Examples of small establishments that mostly employ chefs and servers suffering from cognitive impairments, autism spectrum disorders or Down’s syndrome are multiplying, and their success makes it possible to deconstruct certain prejudices.
On the occasion of the twenty-fifth European Disability Employment Week, which was to open on Monday 15 November, the Ministry of Labor published on 10 November his latest report which indicates that the direct employment rate in full-time equivalent in companies subject to the employment obligation is 3.6% in hotels and restaurants, trade and transport in 2019, against 3.5% on a national average.
More and more employers are opening their recruitment to workers with disabilities. More than one in four (27%) beneficiaries of the obligation to employ people with disabilities works in the hotel and catering industry, commerce or transport. But the work “In an ordinary environment” is complicated to generalize.
Lots of self-censorship
Prejudices about disability are particularly strong in a sector with deemed difficult working conditions. “Catering is a job under pressure, and it is often believed that the disabled are more easily fatigued, but this is not the case”, deplores Stéphanie Roland-Gosselin, president of the Acces association, which supports the young employees of La Belle Etincelle.
“There is also a lot of self-censorship, counselors and disabled job seekers think that the trades are not for them, says Rachel Bouvard, CSR Director of the National Group of Independent Hotel and Restaurant Industry. However, diversity has every reason to be in our professions. In the kitchen, in the service or in the hotel industry, in occupations related to floor staff… ”
As most establishments have fewer than twenty employees, they are not subject to the obligation to employ at least 6% of workers with disabilities under penalty of having to pay a contribution to the Fund Management Association for the professional integration of disabled people. “We have around 10,000 member companies, 80% of which have less than twenty employees, so they have no obligation in terms of disability”, indicates Rachel Bouvard. They are therefore not included in the 2019 Ministry of Labor balance sheet.
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