The hospitality industry has been released from its lockdown shackles in recent weeks and is seeing increased demand for its services. However, a staff shortage threatens to negatively affect business recovery for many in the industry. New data from Caterer.com shows that one in ten employees left the industry in the past year.
Industry association UKHospitality has also estimated about 188,000 workers are missing, blaming the exodus on successive government lockdowns.
The situation has been exacerbated by new post-Brexit rules that make it much harder for EU citizens to apply for low-paying jobs in sectors such as hospitality where they previously worked.
Chef and restaurateur Skye Gyngell warned that the hospitality industry was now facing a “catastrophic” recruitment situation.
She told the BBC’s Kirsty Walk during Newsnight on Tuesday: “The industry is in a dire situation, I mean in terms of recruitment and I think this is a mix of pandemic and Brexit.
“You know it was the kind of perfect storm.
“But I think if you speak to anyone in the industry right now, everyone is in trouble.”
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“A somewhat liberal immigration system controlled by our elected, as opposed to the EU system, would be a plus for the economy and the country.
“America, Australia and Singapore have benefited from this approach for many decades.
“Immigration combined with democracy works.”