British hospitality workers earn 18% more than EU counterparts

27-Sep-2016 - Last updated on 26-Apr-2021 at 18:45 GMT

Research on salaries by The Change Group has found that British hospitality workers are paid, on average 18 per cent more than their European counterparts

British restaurant employees are earning on average 18 per cent more than those from other EU countries and 20 per cent more than people from non-EU countries, according to new research from hospitality recruiter, The Change Group.

Only German hospitality workers earn more than their British counterparts, writes BigHospitality's sister publication MCA Insight.

The data, which is based on analysis of c2,000 registrations at Change between January and August 2016 by experienced people applying to work at top London restaurants, found that workers from the Czech Republic, Latvia and Romania have the lowest paying hospitality jobs, with an average salary that is 41 per cent lower than their British co-workers.

The research also found that on average, British general managers, sous chefs, head chefs and chefs de partie are generally earning more than their counterparts from Europe and the rest of the world. The data also revealed that over half of people looking for restaurant work in London are from the EU (55 per cent).

Around a third of applicants are British (35 per cent) and a quarter from non-EU countries (10 per cent).

Founder and director of The Change Group, Craig Allen, said: "London restaurants are very diverse places with people from all over the world working together to deliver some of the best cooking and service on the planet. However our data suggests there is a discrepancy in terms of the salary expectation with employees from certain nationalities more regularly taking lower paid and generally less skilled positions than those from other countries.

“This situation has significant implications for restaurants moving forwards depending on how the Brexit negotiations evolve around freedom of movement for EU workers. If there are fewer EU workers in the UK this could result in wage bills rising for London restaurants.

“We could also see a worsening battle for talent in London as Britons only make up a third of applicants for jobs in the top restaurants, despite the fact that they are some of the most highly paid workers. Whatever happens with Brexit, we strongly recommend that industry leaders, government and the education sector does more to encourage more British people to work in hospitality.”

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