How has the labour shortage in general impacted hospitality?

To say it’s been an immensely challenging 18 months for the hospitality sector in the UK would be an understatement. The repeated lockdowns and the impact of Brexit have caused a shortfall of approximately 190,000 workers in 2021. While labour shortages are not out of the ordinary within the hospitality sector, Covid-19 has fuelled this to record numbers. Read on to learn about the top 3 ways in which labour shortages, in general, have impacted hospitality.?

Unstable employment?

Zero-hour contracts are common in the hospitality sector, but this means that stable employment is out of reach for many chefs and waiters. In the first four months of 2021, 21% of all the individuals on zero-hour contracts were in hospitality. This made up the largest proportion of any industry in the UK. As such, many saw the pandemic as a way to find better-paid and more secure work in other sectors.

Staff shortages

Labour shortages were not anticipated in the first lockdown back in 2020. Instead, the biggest fear was an increase in job losses and unemployment. Fast forward to today, and businesses are saying that a lack of waiters, bar staff, and chefs are impacting trade. For example, Michel Roux has made an announcement that Le Gavroche will be closing at lunchtime – a sitting that is often among the busiest.

Managers are overwhelmed and cannot find time for hiring

Hotel managers have always been flexible in the sense that they’d cover for absent employees. However, over the past 18 months, hotel managers have said that they’re spending almost half their time checking in guests, cleaning rooms, and carrying out general maintenance while also fulfilling their managerial responsibilities.

While the pressure to find staff has increased due to a rise in guest numbers, hotel managers just can’t find the time to interview, recruit, hire, or train new workers.

Discussing the current situation with James Webber he commented, “Our team is working as hard as possible to support our clients in this difficult time. We have unprecedented demand to introduce suitable candidates to fill client’s chef jobs and managerial jobs across the UK and we are looking at every angle to support”
Contact our team at JWR today

With offices in Salisbury, Exeter, Birmingham, and now London, JWR has created a reputation over the past 20 years in restaurants and hotels as one of the top hospitality recruitment specialists in the UK. With extensive knowledge of the industry, we can help you find the very best candidates for your business. So, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our expert team today.