1. Purpose and scope
Chefs Bay Hospitality Limited supplies temporary chefs and catering staff to clients across the UK hospitality, education, healthcare, and contract catering sectors. This policy sets the standards we hold ourselves to as a regulated employment business, the legal frameworks we operate within, and the measurable commitments we make to clients and to the workers on our roster.
It applies to:
- All staff working at the Chefs Bay office
- All chefs and catering workers placed by Chefs Bay on assignment
- All client engagements, whether ongoing placements or single bookings
2. Regulatory framework
We operate as an employment business within the meaning of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003. Our quality system aligns with:
- Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/3319), including Reg 13A Key Information Document for agency workers
- Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/93)
- Employment Rights Act 1996, as amended by the Employment Rights Act 2025
- Equality Act 2010 and the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, with operational application via Regulation 15 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (information to temporary workers)
- Food Safety Act 1990 and Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006
- Food Information (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2019 (Natasha’s Law)
- UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018
Enforcement of the Conduct Regulations 2003 transferred from the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate to the Fair Work Agency on 7 April 2026 under the Employment Rights Act 2025. Chefs Bay is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office under data protection registration ZB226754.
3. Our commitments
To clients:
- We respond to staffing requests within 2 hours during business hours for placements in our core postcodes (Liverpool, Manchester, Chester, Leicester city centres) and within 24 hours for placements in outer regions.
- Every chef placed has completed our full vetting process before deployment, covering right to work, references, qualifications, food safety training, and a DBS check at the level required by the role.
- We supply each client with the documentation needed to evidence vetting compliance for their own audit purposes.
To workers on our roster:
- Every chef receives a Key Information Document at registration, in line with Conduct Regs 2003 Reg 13A.
- We pay agreed rates regardless of whether the client authenticates the timesheet on time, in line with Conduct Regs 2003 Reg 12.
- We do not charge work-seekers any fee for finding work.
- Statutory Sick Pay is paid from the first day of sickness, with no waiting days, in line with the Employment Rights Act 2025 changes that came into force on 6 April 2026.
To both:
- We comply with Equality Act 2010 protections for every worker and applicant, and we hold ourselves to the harassment-prevention duty under the Worker Protection Act 2023, including for workers placed on third-party client sites.
4. Measurable objectives
Operational targets, reviewed annually:
- Client satisfaction at 90% or above, measured through post-placement feedback
- 100% of chefs complete pre-deployment training in food safety and health and safety before they accept a first placement
- Complaints acknowledged within 24 hours and resolved as soon as reasonably practicable, typically within 5 working days
- 2-hour response in core postcodes, up to 24 hours in outer regions
In the 2025 calendar year, Chefs Bay filled over 8,000 catering shifts across more than 50 client organisations, drawing on a roster of over 400 chefs and catering staff.
5. How we deliver quality
Recruitment and vetting
We require a minimum of one year’s experience for front of house and back of house roles, and four years for chef positions. Every applicant undergoes the full vetting checklist (right to work, references, qualifications, food safety training, and a DBS check at the level required by the role).
Right-to-work checks for British and Irish nationals are carried out via Yoti, a Home Office-certified Identity Service Provider. Right-to-work checks for non-British and non-Irish nationals use the Home Office share-code system. DBS checks are processed through Aaron’s Department.
Onboarding and training
Each chef enrols in our Flow training modules covering food safety, allergens awareness (in line with Food Standards Agency expectations and Natasha’s Law), health and safety, and any role-specific modules a client requires.
Deployment and oversight
Before any placement begins, the host site must confirm in writing the risk assessment and personal protective equipment requirements applicable to the chef, in line with Regulation 15 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. We pass that information directly to the chef before they arrive on site.
Equal treatment monitoring
The Agency Workers Regulations 2010 give chefs equal treatment with comparable directly-employed workers after 12 weeks in the same role with the same client. We track qualifying weeks per chef-client-role combination and trigger a comparator review at week 12.
Continuous improvement
We collect client feedback after each ongoing placement, log complaints centrally, and review the data quarterly with our placement team. Recurring issues feed into the next round of recruitment criteria, training content, or process changes.
6. Roles and responsibilities
The Managing Director owns this policy and approves any changes to it. The placement team is responsible for day-to-day delivery: vetting, deployment, equal-treatment tracking, and complaint handling. Every chef on assignment is responsible for following the host site’s safe systems of work and for reporting any safety, safeguarding, or harassment concerns to the Chefs Bay office.
7. Reporting concerns
Clients with quality concerns should contact contact@chefsbay.co.uk or call 0151 440 2249.
Workers with concerns about pay, treatment, or working conditions should contact the office in the first instance. Where a concern relates to a protected disclosure under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (criminal offences, breach of legal obligations, miscarriages of justice, health and safety risks, environmental damage, or deliberate concealment of any of these), workers may write to hr@chefsbay.co.uk. Disclosures are treated in confidence and protected from detriment.
Concerns relating to data protection should be sent to contact@chefsbay.co.uk. The Information Commissioner’s Office is the ultimate regulator, contactable at ico.org.uk.
8. Review
This policy is reviewed every 12 months, or sooner if legislation, statutory guidance, or operational practice changes materially. The Managing Director signs off each review.
9. Sign-off
Approved by:
Michael Szalaty
Managing Director, Chefs Bay Hospitality Limited
Date: 6 May 2026
Chefs Bay Hospitality Limited · Companies House 13588811 · VAT 389155944 · ICO ZB226754
Registered office: 1 Queen’s Park Road, Handbridge, Chester, CH4 7AD Operational base: Liscard Business Centre, 188 Liscard Rd, Wallasey, CH44 5TN
Policy CB-POL-004 · Version 2.0 · Effective 6 May 2026 · Next review 6 May 2027
