Even in Spain there is a shortage of waiters. According to a report by the platform The Fork published in 2024, 22% of entrepreneurs in the sector attribute the closures of bars and restaurants to difficulties in finding staff. A trend confirmed by the latest survey on labor costs carried out by the National Institute of Statistics, according to which in the first quarter of 2026 there were over 138 thousand vacancies in the service sector.
The causes of the phenomenon? The new generations reject the massacred shifts of the past and demand respect for the 40 hour week and more predictable hours. The result is that many venues reduce their opening hours, eliminate lunch or dinner service, or in the most extreme cases even lower their shutters forever.
“They aren’t even prepared to serve a beer”
José Gabriel Cobos, owner of a bar in Segovia, told El Mundo that he had closed another place, although profitable, due to the impossibility of finding qualified staff. “It was a business that generated profit, and I had to close it. It only caused me headaches,” the entrepreneur explained to the Spanish newspaper. The restaurant closed its doors last March after 11 years in business. The main problem was indicated in the high turnover of employees: “They are not even remotely prepared to serve a beer” added Cobos. “You can find people, but it’s hard to find qualified employees who won’t leave you stranded.”
A survey carried out by the ‘Cruzcampo Foundation’ and the Seville Chamber of Commerce revealed that almost nine out of ten young people believe it is essential to have more predictable working hours and shifts. “It used to be different” says Cobos, “in the hospitality sector you worked 12 or 14 hour shifts, but now it’s a normal 40 hour job… if it goes well. Then if you go over the hours they immediately tell you: ‘Hey, what’s happening?’, Do you understand?”.
Employee mistakes and the month of August “spent without working”
Victoria Hernández, owner together with her husband of the Enclave de Mar restaurant in Valencia, has decided to remove 3 of the 12 tables from the terrace of her restaurant because she is unable to guarantee adequate service. The entrepreneur also complains about the staff not always being up to par. “They make mistakes with the cash register, people leave without paying. In other words, it’s a loss because there are no professionals who want to work.” According to him, during the peak period of the season, some employees would get hired only to “call in sick” and therefore “spend August without working at the employer’s expense”.
The slowness of the service makes customers flee: 62% of Spaniards admit to having left without paying or to having been tempted to do so due to the endless waits for the bill, and 60% give up desserts or second drinks so as not to have to “chase” the waiters.
What to do? The star system of the Andilana Group
In short, entrepreneurs paint a gloomy picture. But we are still talking about a single bell. The other, that of the workers, often tells another truth. As we well know in Italy too. The solution? In words it seems within reach: paying employees more and satisfying their requests.
The Andilana Group, owner of dozens of businesses, has developed a system that is based on the stars. And that seems to work. “A waiter with one star earns a salary according to the collective agreement,” operations director Jon Ceballos explained to El Mundo. “If that waiter improves his results and performance, he moves up to the salary of a two-star waiter and then to that of a three-star waiter.” The group also worked on scheduling to ease the load on employees and implemented the use of technology in the room. The result is that in the restaurants managed by Andilana, workers stay longer and turnover has decreased. But according to Ceballos, not all businesses can afford to adopt measures of this type.