‘Help us or we’ll lose three quarters of a million jobs’ trade warns

19-Oct-2020 - Last updated on 19-Oct-2020 at 14:46 GMT

Aid needed: trade bodies have called on the Government for more support for firms in all three tiers

Some 750,000 hospitality roles will be lost by February 2021 without further Government support, a survey from trade bodies has found.

The poll of UKHospitality (UKH), British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) and British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) members by CGA revealed that more than three quarter (76%) of businesses were loss making.

The results reflect views largely canvassed before the full impact of the Government’s tiered system were announced, with areas including London, York, Lancashire and Liverpool under tight restrictions.

Immediate extension

Almost 50% of respondents said restrictions will reduce their turnover by at least half this winter and prediction for business failure by the end of this year is now estimated to be more than one in four. Additionally, more than 50% of businesses are now expected to fail before the end of the first quarter in 2021.

The trade bodies are urging the Government to urgently rethink the support offered to hospitality firms across all three tiers, to avoid unprecedented levels of unemployment and business failure across the industry.

They are calling for an immediate, sector-specific extension of the Jobs Support Scheme with no employer contribution until restrictions are lifted for all tiers.

They also want Government Disruption Grants to be made available for all venues, across all tiers and a review of any restrictions placed on venues taking place every two weeks.

Devastating impact

A joint spokesperson for the trade bodies said: “There can be no doubt of the devastating impact the Government’s restrictions are having on hospitality and pub businesses across the UK.

“Without urgent-sector specific support for our industry, massive business failure is imminent and hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost around Christmas from a sector that was in growth at the beginning of this year, as well as in the supply chain that supports them.

“With there are any restrictions placed on hospitality and pubs, there must be financial support in place across all tiers of risk.”

A plethora of pub companies have already begun redundancy consultations including Greene King, Marston's, Mitchells & Butlers and JD Wetherspoon.