Friday News Bites
Friday News Bites: Catch up with the latest hospitality news
In this edition of News Bites, we talk about knock-on effects of industrial action and the cost-of-living crisis on the hospitality industry. We’ll also shine a light on a recruitment scheme, and an initiative to get late-night hospitality workers home safe and sound.
Cost of living hitting pubs worse than Covid
The cost-of-living crisis in the run-up to Christmas is making it “harder than Covid” for businesses, according to hospitality bosses in the North-East – meaning the new year might not be all that happy. Kate Nicholls of UK Hospitality says “One-in-three North-East businesses say they have no cash reserves, they’ve got no fat to be able to withstand an economic shock, and half of them are not breaking even because of energy bills”.
Springboard drives 10,000 people into employment
Through its 2022 initiative, the hospitality charity Springboard has supported more than 10,000 people into employment. The campaign has encouraged people from all walks of life such as Ukrainian refugees, care leavers and people with mental or physical health conditions to join the hospitality, leisure and tourism industry. Chris Gamm, CEO of Springboard, said “We’re delighted to have reached and exceeded our goal. Hearing how the programme has changed the lives of participants makes this achievement even more meaningful”.
Rail strikes to caused disruption for hospitality businesses
The UK hospitality industry had high hopes for the first festive season without Covid restrictions, but a combination of rail strikes and frosty conditions have dashed them. Venues believe a third of reservations will be cancelled during the peak Christmas-party period because of continuing strikes. The knock-on effect of industrial action could mean the hospitality industry is impacted as badly as it was last year by the Omicron variant.
Glasgow council supports late-night hospitality workers’ safety initiative
Councillors in Glasgow have backed a scheme to provide free and safe transport home for staff after late night shifts. The motion passed unanimously after members of the union Unite had lobbied for employers to provide transport for staff past 11pm as part of its Get Me Home Safely campaign. Glasgow City Council has also agreed to call on public transport providers to put on more night services for late shift workers, and back initiatives to make training in preventing sexual assault, harassment, and gender-based violence mandatory for transport workers.