How Brexit impacted the hospitality industry

The hospitality industry, once fuelled in a large part by a non-British workforce, experienced a significant drop in international workers. The fallout of Brexit and restrictions during the pandemic, mean that businesses now have to navigate a maze of regulations, labour shortages, supply chain disruptions, and shifting customer dynamics.  

How did Brexit impact the UK hospitality industry?  

Brexit’s impact on the UK hospitality industry roughly covers two main areas – people and food – the former being the area we will focus on here. A report carried out by Oxford University's Migration Observatory, show that the number of EU employees working in the British hospitality sector dropped by 25% between June 2019 and June 2021.  

As previously mentioned, new restrictions for EU citizens wishing to come and live and work in the UK means that the talent pool from which restaurant, hotel and pub owners can fish from has reduced in size.  

Now, unless they were already living and working in the UK before it left the EU, EU citizens will only be able to work here if they have a skilled work visa, and applicants must show they have a job offer from an approved employer sponsor to be able to apply.  

The new rules mean it is not impossible for EU citizens to work in restaurants, pubs and hotels in the UK, but the additional red tape and costs involved make it a much more expensive and time-consuming process for both employers and potential employees.  

Navigating post-Brexit recruitment challenges 

Employers must adapt their strategies when it comes to hiring in hospitality by making a few fundamental changes to staffing policies and by investing more time and effort into retaining current staff as well as encouraging more UK citizens to consider hospitality as a career.  

Here are a few ways employers can evolve their hiring strategy post-Brexit: 

1. Hold onto existing staff  

We know that improving staff retention has many positive benefits for a hospitality business, but that it is also difficult to achieve. There is no simple solution to make employees stick around, and it will depend on the business and the individuals involved as to what works best, but for hospitality businesses employing existing European staff with settled status, it certainly makes sense to investigate ways that will aid their retention.  

2. Widen your recruitment net  

Times are changing, and so must your recruitment methods and how you view potential candidates. The recruitment pool you had access to pre-Brexit is no longer the same, so go and find another one to cast your net into. Parents looking to return to work, retirees missing the workplace and office workers seeking a change of pace could be your next chefs, restaurant managers or bartenders, so make your recruitment campaigns appeal to these demographics to help make up the shortfall felt by Brexit’s impact on the hospitality workforce.  

3. Be flexible  

The traditional working environment as many have known it, has been transformed with more people working from home or adopting more flexible working patterns with a bigger emphasis on work/life balance Moving forward, the UK workforce is expected to demand greater flexibility, and while most hospitality roles can’t be done from home, employers still must consider how to make their companies appealing places to work with greater flexibility in shift patterns.  

4. Back industry initiatives  

While it won’t have an immediate impact, supporting industry initiatives that highlight hospitality as a great place to work, such as those run by the charities Springboard and The Hoteliers’ Charter could help turn around future recruitment issues. Adding your voice to and backing these initiatives is a positive step towards improving hospitality’s recruitment woes.   

Tools to help manage post-Brexit challenges  

While the impact of Brexit on the industry has been multifaceted, software solutions can help businesses adapt to evolving circumstances while maintaining compliance. From recruitment and onboarding to compliance and workforce analytics, the right software can streamline and automate various aspects of workforce management in response to Brexit-related changes.  

Our hospitality recruitment software enables you to hire more effectively and attract the best talent through its end-to-end applicant tracking process. Built-in eligibility to work feature checks a candidate's eligibility to work, helping to save time and money in any busy hospitality business.  

For more information on our how our software can help, watch the 7-minute demo or get in touch to speak to a specialist.