Restaurant bosses are being hampered in search for staff ahead of indoor hospitality reopening on May 17
There is uncertainty over restrictions being lifted and they have also faced an exodus of foreign workers
EU staff now make up 39% of UK hospitality workforce, down from 43% at same point in 2019, data reveals
Meanwhile 35% of new starters in first three months of 2021 were from EU, down on 49% in 2019 first quarter
Three quarters of business leaders will be looking to recruit new staff members and grow their teams in 2021 as hospitality prepares for the easing of lockdown.
That’s according to CGA’s Business Leaders Survey, which was sponsored by hospitality technology company Fourth and pooled responses from 726 operators across the restaurant, bar and casual dining industries.
The survey revealed that just under half (44%) will be recruiting to the same, or a greater extent, than in previous years.
Furthermore, they predict that their workforces will return to 79% of their previous scale by July 2021, and 90% by December 2021.
Fourth says that the figures have been buoyed by the Budget, announced last week by the Chancellor, which brought some positive news for the industry in the form of an extension to the VAT cut, business rates relief, a freeze on beer, spirits and wine duty for another year, and the extension of the furlough scheme to September.
Some 9% of business leaders expect their companies not to continue if Chancellor Rishi Sunak does not announce further support in the Budget next week (Wednesday 3 March), according to research.
The CGA Business Leaders’ Survey 2021, which was sponsored by Fourth and conducted in collaboration with UKHospitality, the British Beer & Pub Association and the British Institute of Innkeeping included 726 respondents.
Additionally, just over a third (37%) stated their businesses could return to profit this year without new support.
However, there were levels of optimism in the survey with about half (51%) stated they were confident about prospects for the sector over the next year – more than three times the number who felt that way in November last year (14%).