ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses how informality interacting with ethnicity shaped employment relations in the context of the ethnic Chinese restaurant sector. It discusses the informal management system in the two restaurants and the implications of employment relationships. The chapter also discusses how management and employees reacted to a variety of laws and regulations and analyses different patterns of employment relations during the adaptation process. It describes how owners and workers in the ethnic Chinese restaurant sector responded to a variety of UK laws. The ‘grapevine’ recruitment was regarded as the most simple and cost-effective method for recruiting both chefs and front area workers. Onthe-job training was also sufficient for front area workers and kitchen assistants to acquire basic abilities. The method of close employee supervision was generally applied. Without clear rules and policies in guiding the management process, performance appraisal and supervision were managed based on Kate’s judgement.
