London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 31, 2025

COVID-19: Customers are desperate to dine, but restaurants and pubs are facing a recruitment crisis

COVID-19: Customers are desperate to dine, but restaurants and pubs are facing a recruitment crisis

The sector's calling for the planned end to most restrictions to go ahead on 21 June as businesses struggled through the pandemic.

The hospitality industry is facing a recruitment crisis as it struggles to fill thousands of vacancies.

Venues are finding it difficult to hire front-of-house staff and chefs as they experience a shortage of 188,000 workers, according to research by UK Hospitality.

Bars, pubs, restaurants and cafes have been able to serve customers indoors in England since last week.

But whilst customers have been desperate to dine, the industry has struggled to find people to serve them.

Staff serve at tables inside The Borough pub on St Mary's Street, Cardiff


"Around 80% of members are reporting that they have vacancies at the moment, and some of them are reporting that they are struggling to fill those vacancies," said Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality.

She said uncertainty surrounding restrictions has made the industry less appealing, and is calling on the government to stick to the reopening dates and lift all COVID restrictions by 21 June.

"The government must restore confidence in the hospitality sector so that it is again seen as a stable employer and provider of fulfilling careers," she said.

But COVID restrictions are not the only issue the industry has to contend with, as some businesses are complaining that Brexit has also contributed to staff shortages as EU workers opt to stay in their home countries.

"It's sort of a perfect storm of Brexit, COVID and furlough," said James Chiavarini, who runs Il Portico, an Italian restaurant that has been in the family for 55 years.

He said it has been "lovely" to have customers "flooding back" but said he spends between six to seven hours each day looking for people to hire.

"We are opening up a new restaurant next month and we have about seven vacancies which need filling and we have got about 26 days to fill them all," he said.

"And now there is the added pressure of visas and Brexit and paperwork which still no one really understands."

Many of the overseas workers who returned home at the beginning of the pandemic have not come back, with nearly a fifth of them saying the costs of quarantine upon return was preventing them, according to UK Hospitality.

Because of this, it is asking the government to consider a visa scheme for hospitality workers who do not qualify under the points-based immigration system.

But in the short term, it is asking for help to encourage UK-based workers to join the sector.

Some bars and restaurants are taking matters into their own hands, finding unique ways of getting staff signed up to the books.

Laura Harper-Hinton is a founder of Caravan restaurants and has been paying customers to recommend their friends for work.

"It's a really simple scheme. It's a £100 dining voucher to anyone that recommends a Caravan superstar," said Ms Harper-Hinton

"We have had incredible feedback from it - within 24 hours we had 60 responses."

Laura Harper-Hinton has taken a different approach to recruitment


While the recruitment scheme has been working so far, Ms Harper-Hinton said it is not sustainable.

"Without government intervention, we are not going to see enough people coming back into the sector that we require or need," she said.

The government has said it is doing everything it can to support hospitality to recover following the reopening of indoor venues earlier this month.

In a statement, it said: "Our dedicated Work Coaches are supporting people into work, including in hospitality, and through the Kickstart Scheme we're offering generous incentives to employers to recruit, with hundreds of young people starting work every day."

It also said it has been working with the sector to understand the impact on job shortages as a result of leaving the EU and the pandemic.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
×