The view comes as Sacha Lord, the night-time economy adviser for Greater Manchester, accused the hospitality sector, including the pub trade, of “shooting itself in the foot” by continuing to pay staff the minimum wage.
Attract and retain staff
He is also now urging hospitality employers to sign up to Greater Manchester’s Good Employment Charter and raise the standards of working conditions in the sector in order to attract and retain staff.
The industry responded quickly claiming that the market is tight in terms of margins and employment.
Bizimply described a ‘pincer movement’, which is seeing politicians put more emphasis on the RLW, at the same time as there is fierce competition amongst operators for the best employees. While this is putting the squeeze on businesses Bizimply believes that the best operators have little to fear.
Upward pressure
“Upward pressure on wages is a consequence of operators restaffing as hospitality reopens after the pandemic, at the same time as the sector deals with the reality of significant labour shortages post-Brexit, with many experienced employees no longer in the UK,” said Conor Shaw, CEO of Bizimply.
However, Shaw added that despite the impact on hospitality in the pandemic it is clear that politicians on all sides now expect employers to increase the salary aspirations of its workforce.
"Practically, there’s little choice for those who want to stay ahead of the pack and deliver great customer service; they need the best people front-of house in their units," he added.
He advised employers to manage staff rotas and working hours as effectively as possible. He added that by using the right workforce management tools this has the added benefit of freeing up managers’ time.