Today, FLEX publishes a new report exploring the experiences of workers in dark kitchens, engaging with workers to understand the issues they face.

What are dark kitchens?

Delivery-only kitchens (also known as ‘ghost kitchens’ or ‘dark kitchens’) rose in prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic, when a rapid increase took place in goods and services sold online which do not require customer-facing locations. Under this model, meals are ordered online and prepared, ready for delivery, with no space for customers to enter and dine.

These kitchens are usually located away from busy streets, in areas with low footfall, such as within shipping containers in car parks or industrial estates. The words ‘dark’ and ‘ghost’ refer to the fact that customers do not see restaurant operations, since they cannot enter this space.

What’s the worry?

The rise in work derived from such platforms has transformed the places in which work happens, by altering how it is organised, managed, and performed.

The increased remoteness and decreased visibility of these kitchens compared to traditional restaurants may be leading to less scrutiny, sociality, and security for those who work in them.

What’s in the report?

Whilst studies on changing consumer trends and the rise in dark kitchens exist, there is very little research available on first-hand experiences of working in these emergent kitchens.

This report seeks to understand the general conditions of dark kitchens work, and identify how regulation and labour market enforcement could improve conditions for the dark kitchen staff around the UK, cooking thousands of meals every day, behind closed doors.

This new study suggests that, in spite of the already notoriously poor working conditions within the hospitality sector, conditions for dark kitchen chefs may be further undermined, due to the business model leading to cramped, hot kitchens with little regulation.

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Read our analysis. which particularly unpacks the problems in scheme complaints processes, here.

In Case You Missed It:

This report presents a Blueprint for how to build better migration structures. This approach was developed by drawing on the struggles and needs of migrant workers themselves, to build a framework that can work concretely in a variety of contexts.

Policy-makers, employers, sponsors, unions and others can take this framework and apply it, to help bring about a safer, fairer visa structure and migration system into practice.

Read the full report: