Hospitality sector calls for additional support for furloughed staff
The UK’s hospitality sector has called for additional support for furloughed workers to ensure businesses survive the coronavirus lockdown.
In a letter to chancellor Rishi Sunak, trade body UK Hospitality today urged the government to extend the existing coronavirus job retention scheme, which is currently set to run until the end of June, and increase flexibility for businesses as they begin to reopen.
The sector called for the furlough scheme to be extended until the end of September at its current rate of 80 per cent of pay, with a tapered scheme running until the end of the year.
The chancellor is expected to announce an extension to the scheme tomorrow, but this will likely be at a reduced level of pay.
The hospitality sector also called for the removal of the three-week minimum for furloughing workers, which it said would increase flexibility for reopening businesses.
In addition, industry leaders called for a part-furlough system that would see the government paying 50 per cent of total employment costs.
In total roughly 6.3m Brits have been furloughed under the government’s job retention scheme, with roughly 2.4m of these estimated to work in the broader hospitality sector.
UK Hospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls warned that “abruptly turning off” this support would be a “disaster” and would undo the benefits of the scheme so far.
“When lockdown lifts, a substantial number of hospitality businesses will be unable to reopen again and many of those that can will still be operating far under normal capacity,” she said.
“We have reiterated our call for an extension of the scheme and an increase in flexibility to provide the maximum support and opportunity for businesses and their employees. If we do not get it, we are looking at an even greater threat to a sector that has already been hammered.”