High street Italian chain Prezzo Italian has revamped its suite of employee benefits which includes offering staff extra annual leave providing they jet to Italy for their holiday.
Under the new scheme, any member of the team who chooses to spend their holiday in Italy will receive 10% extra annual leave. The incentive is designed to ‘reward excellence, enhance team experience and celebrate the Italian culture at the heart of the brand,' according to the group.
Prezzo Italian CEO James Brown commented: ‘At Prezzo Italian, we believe our people are our most important ingredient. By giving our teams more opportunities to experience Italy, we strengthen their connection to the brand and bring that authenticity back into our restaurants.'
The initiative is part of the brand’s wider repositioning and turnaround strategy which saw it rebrand from Prezzo to Prezzo Italian earlier this year, with further benefits being rolled out alongside the enhanced annual leave scheme.
Head chefs will be enrolled onto a new certification programme that will allow them to earn rewards for adhering to strict food guidelines and quality standards. The three-tiered programme includes bronze, silver and gold levels, and gives Prezzo Italian’s head chefs the chance to earn rewards like £100 Amazon vouchers, plus increases of between 25p and £1 to hourly wage rates.
The group has also announced a ‘Mystery Guest Excellence Bonus’ in which an unknown partner will dine at each site twice every month. Locations that achieve a score of 92% or above will see the general manager, assistant manager and head chef receive a £250 bonus, and a shared £250 bonus for front of house. Additionally, every quarter the highest scoring restaurant will win an extra £1,000 reward.
Prezzo Italian currently has 95 sites across the UK, with plans to refurbish 20 this year, and an extra 40 next year, as part of a major investment proposition.
Want more news like this delivered to your inbox? Subscribe to our weekly restaurants newsletter to keep up to date with the latest industry news and openings.