Hard Rock Commits to Pay Increases for Non-Tipped Employees

By Jane Shaw Senior Editor Updated: 09/28/2022

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Hard Rock Commits to Pay Increases

It has been reported that casino operator Hard Rock has committed to pay increases for huge numbers of employees that do not receive tips.

The company is set to spend $100 million over this year to boost basic salaries for up to 10,000 members of staff at its venues. This will be mostly for employees that work at its casino and hotel locations across the United States.

According to reports, the move will result in a basic wage increase of close to 17 percent when it comes to the minimum starting salary for employees, and this will take the starting hourly salary to $21.

The boost in salaries will be awarded to staff members in a range of positions across all its properties, such as cage cashiers, cooks, and housekeeping staff, among others. Croupiers and waiting staff are examples of employees who will not receive a rise, as they receive tips.

Helping Employees in Other Ways

The company is committed to helping employees financially in a variety of ways. In addition to pledging wage increases to boost the salaries of thousands of employees, the company is also launching a range of rewards based on merits for salaried employees and will be helping staff to deal with ongoing post-pandemic inflation.

Jim Allen, the chairman and chief executive officer for Hard Rock International, said:

We looked at all the starting salaries of all our frontline employees, certainly recognizing the economic conditions that have been going on, and wanted to do something to really help out and show our appreciation.

He added that Hard Rock was eager to find the highest quality employees and thank them for their ongoing efforts by increasing compensation levels. This, according to Allen, will help to both attract and maintain hardworking employees, as they will feel more appreciated and will be better rewarded for their dedication.

Before the scheme was developed, an in-house study was carried out by Hard Rock executives to better determine the impact of such a move. It is thought that the implementation of the scheme will benefit up to 50 percent of the Hard Rock workforce in the United States.

Reducing Turnover of Staff

One of the things that Hard Rock hopes to do with its new scheme is to reduce staff turnover at its properties across the United States. At the onset of the global pandemic, many casino and hotel employees were laid off, and since restrictions were lifted, many casinos have reported issues with rehiring staff.

By improving salaries and rewards, Hard Rock hopes to be able to not only bring new team members on board due to the appealing benefits but also hang on to those who are already trained and provide a dedicated service to Hard Rock customers.

This will help the company as well as employees in the long term, as it means less money spent on having to hire and train new employees.

Hard Rock has a range of casino and hotel resorts across the United States, and it is part of the federally recognized Seminole Tribe of Florida.