A drop in migration from the EU could spell disaster for the British hospitality sector, according to trade body UKHospitality. Net migration was only at 101,000 in 2017, the lowest it had reached in four years, with a record 139,000 EU citizens leaving the UK.
UKHospitality, an industry body which represents over 700 venues, described the numbers as ‘alarming’.
“This represents a significant fall on the previous year,” said UKHospitality CEO Kate Nicholls. “Particularly distressful is news that this squeeze is being felt most acutely in lower-skilled labour which makes up the bulk of the workforce.”
A report from KPMG last year estimated that 75 percent of waitstaff, 25 percent of chefs and 37 percent of housekeeping staff are EU immigrants.
“The hospitality labour pool is shrinking and around a quarter of employers in the sector already say they are struggling to fill vacancies. The hospitality sector relies heavily on EU migrants to fill many of its vacancies and should this trend continue, businesses are likely to struggle to keep up with projected growth.”
