Hospitality employees happier at work than they were despite mid-level pay squeeze: Salaries in the hospitality sector have seen a squeeze at the mid-level, with a larger number of workers earning less than £30,000 (up from 30% in 2023 to 37%) and a rise in those earning £60,000 or more (up from 13% in 2023 to 16% in 2024), according to a major survey of hospitality employees. The UK’s Largest Hospitality Salary Survey 2024 – created by KAM in partnership with Access Group, the British Institute of Innkeeping, Hospitality Jobs UK, Montgomery Group and Otolo – reveals a decrease in salary levels across most sectors of hospitality with the exception of hotels, where average salaries have risen from £42,100 to £44,800. According to more than 1,300 UK employees taking part in the annual survey, the average salary in fast food/cafes has dropped this year from £42,700 to £37,000, from £41,200 to £40,200 in full-service restaurants, and from £41,200 to £40,200 in pubs, clubs and bars. The survey, now in its third year, found a decrease in salaries across the main job roles with the exception of general management, and a decrease for employees at mid-career level and lower, compared with an increase in average salaries for those with 13-plus years’ experience. Employee satisfaction amongst respondents had risen, however, with the number of workers reporting a healthy work/life balance up from 51% in 2023 to 59% this year. Some 69% of workers report being happy in their current roles, up from 62%, while 62% expect to be working for the same company in 12 months’ time, up from 54%. An impressive 82% of employees say they would recommend a career in hospitality, compared with 74% that would have done so last year. While receiving a fair salary remains the most important benefit cited by employees, the survey reveals employees are placing more emphasis on other benefits including holiday entitlement (cited by 92% of respondents as very or quite important), training and development sessions (88%), flexible hours (83%) and mentoring (75%). The provision of ‘softer’ benefits has also risen in importance such as well-being sessions (up 6%), discounts on eating and drinking out (up 10%) and counselling (up 9%). The survey also found a sharp decrease in pay for 16 to 18-year-olds but an increase for 19 to 21-year-olds and 36 to 54-year-olds. It said 40% of hospitality workers are clocking up 7.5-plus additional hours per week, down from 43% in 2023, although more workers are doing up to 2.5 hours over and above their contracted hours, from 26% in 2023 to 30% in 2024 – and that 62% of employees are not paid extra for working additional hours. Furthermore, 50% say they have received sufficient training to feel fully qualified for their role, although 35% saying they haven’t had as much training as they would like to in order to feel confident. Access Group’s director of learning, Jamie Campbell, said: “It seems the UK’s hospitality sector has worked at improving those areas it was traditionally weaker on – so training and additional benefits. While there has been a slight decrease in average salaries across most sectors, improved employee benefits are going some way to make up for this, prompting more employees to be happier in their work. It’s vital this continues in order to retain and attract staff going forward.”

 

Pubs choosing to close at 8pm or not open on quieter days to save costs: Pubs across Britain are having to close as early as 8pm and close on quieter days as they struggle to deal with the cost-of-living crisis and skyrocketing energy bills. A poll of British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) members found 32% of pubs had reduced their hours due to high costs. This follows previous figures from the BBPA that 509 pubs shut down in 2023, and by June this year, an estimated 750 could close. BBPA chief executive Emma McClarkin said: “They have been grappling with a multitude of challenges. The decision to reduce hours is not one pubs want to make – it is a survival strategy in an unsustainably tough environment.” Speaking to the Daily Mirror, pub owners  laid bare the scale of the issues facing the sector. The owner of the The Hawke in Hackney, Greg Kirk, calls last orders as early as 8pm, and on quieter days he doesn’t even open. He said: “Sometimes I don't even feel like I am running a pub, because I believe a public house should be open seven days a week until at least 11pm. But it costs me way too much in terms of electricity and wages to keep the pub open when nobody is coming in.” At The Old George Inn in Sykehouse in Yorkshire, landlady Rosie Nagaty, who runs the pub with her husband John, claims it costs the pub £250 just to open. “We can't afford to pay staff to stand in an empty pub with the heating and lights on and no customers,” she said. “If customers aren’t in the pub by 8.30 or 9pm, we have learned they don’t arrive any later.” Campaign for Real Ale chairman Nik Antona said: “Last orders at an earlier time is preferential to the pub closing its doors for good and the local community losing its central hub. The fact that venues are being forced to make this decision should serve as a harsh wake-up call for government to support UK pubs, lest we lose them forever.”

Plans for new 28,000 sqm, 12-storey dark kitchen and food hall hub in West London get green light: Plans for a new 28,000 square-metre, 12-storey dark kitchen and food hall hub in West London have been given the go-ahead. The project, featuring 260 dark kitchens over ten storeys, plus a food court and public space on two lower floors, has been put forward by architecture firm Dowen Farmer. Founded in 2017 by James Dowen and Tom Farmer and based in Peckham, south London, the company is behind several residential projects, mainly in and around the capital. Called Portal Way, it will be located in the road of the same name in the Park Royal/North Acton area of West London and provide 1,200 new jobs. The idea is for food from the kitchens to be ordered by the public via apps and “shuttled down to the market space via smart food lifts”. The project has been unanimously approved by the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC)’s planning committee.