Hospitality faces “recruitment crisis” without EU migration, says BHA

The British Hospitality Association (BHA) has published a report claiming the hospitality sector would face a “recruitment crisis” without EU migration.

A report – Labour Migration in the Hospitality Sector – from KPMG, and commissioned by the BHA, said the hospitality and tourism industries would be the worst affected by possible migration restrictions.

Due to the uncertainty of EU migration after Brexit, the BHA has estimated that 60,000 workers would need to be replaced per year as well as an ongoing recruitment of 200,000 members of staff to power the industry’s growth.

The report revealed that 24% of the industry’s current workforce is made up of EU workers. It also states that 75% of waiters and waitresses, 25% of chefs and 37% of housekeeping staff are from the EU.

The hospitality industry is the first major sector to lay out a plan in which it proposes to reduce its reliance on EU staff.

The BHA has proposed a 10-year strategy to the government, in which it lays out plans to recruit more staff from the UK and steadily decline its access to the EU workforce.

In the document, the BHA suggests the hospitality sector should target Britain’s unemployed population, returners to the labour market and the next generation of workers.

Ufi Ibrahim, chief executive of the BHA, said: “Hospitality and tourism face major problems in recruitment if there is any major cut in the number of workers allowed to enter from the EU.

“The government must be aware that in the medium to long term we will still need considerable numbers of EU workers, who have contributed so much to our industry and the UK economy in general.

“We have submitted our strategy to Number 10 Downing Street because we are aware of our responsibility to encourage more UK nationals to see the career opportunities available in hospitality and tourism.”