The UK’s eating and drinking-out sector was facing a staffing crisis, especially in its kitchens, before the issues thrown up by Brexit came about. Will turning to older and wiser heads help ease some of the pain?
Staff not coming back from holiday; retention figures falling from near 80% to below 55% are just some of the stories that have emerged since the decision to leave the European Union was taken.
Earlier this year, the British Hospitality Association (BHA) published a report that said without future EU migration, the hospitality sector faces a recruitment crisis, with upwards of 60,000 workers per year needed in addition to the ongoing recruitment of 200,000 workers required to replace churn and to power growth. The BHA sent the Government a 10-year strategy for recruiting a substantially higher proportion of its workforce from the UK. The strategy focuses on three main sections of the population – the unemployed, returners to the labour market such as older people, and the next generation.
Older people more ‘comfortable’
It is the middle field that some operators are looking to take advantage of. Jeremy King, co-founder of Corbin & King, says: “One untapped resource is older people. There’s a lot of people taking early retirement, being made redundant. So we’re targeting people over 50 years old because, actually, they’re rather good – they’re understanding, they’re a bit more comfortable. When they’re waiting tables they’re not saying how they want to be a model or telling people about their tattoos.”
In February, some of the Britain’s best-known companies decided they needed older and wiser heads in their workforce and set themselves public targets to make sure it happens. Barclays, Boots, Aviva, Co-op and others unveiled plans to increase the number of over-50s they employ by 12% by 2022, and said they would publish data about the age of their existing workforce so their progress can be measured. They called on other businesses to do the same.
The groups are responding to a skills gap in the economy, which is emerging as the population ages. Between 2012 and 2022, 14.5m people are expected to leave the workforce as they retire, while only 7m are expected to enter.
“Businesses will not be able to get the skills, resources and capabilities they need to continue to develop their business unless they find a solution,” said Andy Briggs, who is chief executive of Aviva’s UK business and became the Government’s business champion for older workers last year. “One of the solutions will be to create an environment where older people can work for longer.”
Brexit playing its part
He highlighted that Brexit was also playing its part: “Prior to Brexit [the gap] was likely to be filled to a significant degree by immigration, so Brexit really does bring this into focus.”
JD Wetherspoon stopped using a retirement age in 2006. Since that time, the percentage of people over 50 working in its sites has almost doubled from c2.5% to just under 5%. Su Cacioppo, personnel and legal director at JDW, says: “The number of employees aged 50 years and over has steadily increased over the past 10 years or so. These workers have a wide range of skills and experience that the company, their work colleagues and our customers are benefiting from.”
A study earlier this year by Aviva, found that half of adults expect to keep working beyond the age of 65. Briggs says: “Ultimately, we’re going to have a more skilled workforce. Digitisation is going to automate a lot of processing roles. What’s going to be left are the roles where you need more knowledge and experience.”
