One in 10 hospitality workers may leave UK due to Brexit
It highlights the contrast between the expectations of staff and those of hospitality managers, who believe that only 4% of their employees are considering leaving the country due to the upcoming withdrawal from the EU.
The survey, conducted in April, found that one in five managers find recruitment harder now than in April 2017, while 16% think they will be unable to find enough staff over the next five years from a pool of only domestic workers.
“These findings show to us the depth of the potential impact of Brexit on the UK economy, with the hospitality industry being hit especially hard," says John Coldicutt, chief commercial officer for Planday - which partnered with YouGov for the survey.
"There’s clearly false confidence within the hospitality sector with almost three times as many workers considering leaving as managers expect."
Wider concerns
Some 30% of workers expressed concern about their job as a result of the UK's withdrawal from the EU. Topping the list were immigration worries, with 23% of staff polled who are born outside the UK concerned that they would be forced to leave.
Other worries were expectations of decreasing pay (11%) or being made to work longer hours (6%).
About a third of managers (32%) who haven’t done so already think they will have to pay higher salaries and will experience labour (21%) and skills shortages (15%) as a result of Brexit.
Almost half (45%) of hospitality managers want the government to offer some form of assistance to the sector due to Brexit, while 30% want specific work permits or visas for hospitality workers post Brexit.
“Brexit will present some fundamental challenges to our sector if the changes proposed around immigration are approved, given the sheer number of staff and businesses that would be affected,” says Peter Ducker, chief executive of the Institute of Hospitality.
“These results clearly show the need across the sector for forward-planning and we are encouraged to see evidence of the industry stepping up to the challenges ahead through increased training and upskilling as well as the many innovative recruitment strategies we know our members are starting to put in place.”
The survey was based on interviews with 407 hospitality staff and 260 managers across the UK.
