UK: A survey by UKHospitality (UKH) reveals that over 960,000 staff are expected to return to work from furlough over the course of July.
As of 1 July 2020, employers can bring furloughed employees back to work for any amount of time and any shift pattern, whilst still being able to claim the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme grant for the hours not worked.
The UKH survey of 15,000 venues shows around 60 per cent of the UK’s hospitality sector will reopen on or within a few days of 4 July 2020, with around three-quarters of pubs and accommodation businesses open again by the end of the month.
An expected 1.6 million staff are said to return to work by the end of September.
UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said: “Everyone can see the devastating effect that this crisis has had on hospitality businesses. Venues have been closed for months and millions of workers in the sector have been furloughed. To see such large numbers of businesses ready to open again, welcoming back so many staff members so quickly is hugely encouraging.
“There is still a long way to go and businesses are by no means out of the woods yet. This is a very positive start, though. Getting venues open and customers through the doors means that more jobs will be kept safe. Despite the positive news we need support for those businesses that are still not able to open, and for those whose jobs rely upon them.”
According to the survey, around 320,000 redundancies are also expected for the sector.
The BBC reported that the Wales Independent Restaurant Collective are issuing redundancy notices across the sector this week. Unlike the UK, restaurants in Wales do not currently have a reopening date.
In the wider travel industry, Sky News has reported that Airbus is cutting 15,000 roles worldwide, and easyJet will be cutting nearly 2,000 UK-based jobs.
