Manchester’s hospitality industry in crisis with 3,000 job vacancies

Following the reopening of pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels on July 19th, Manchester’s hospitality sector is facing a mass staff shortage with over 3,000 job vacancies across the city.

Industry bosses have been reporting thousands of job vacancies across the sector, with a range of roles in some of the city’s top hotels, bars and restaurants simply not being filled.

Research by Caterer.com found that vacancies had grown by 342% since hospitality venues were allowed to reopen as Covid restrictions were lifted last month, and that 90,000 workers have left the industry since the pandemic began.

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As a result of these staff shortages, businesses across the city have been struggling to cope with the return of customers, with many being forced to adopt shorter hours in an attempt to adapt to a smaller team.

Greater Manchester’s night Time Economy Advisor Sacha Lord has blamed a combination of low wages, unsociable hours, the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit on the staff shortages.

He said: “Not only has the workforce been decimated by Brexit and the introduction of salary-threshold visas, but the closures enforced during Covid lockdowns have forced staff to leave the industry and retrain, or seek higher wages elsewhere.

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“As we rebuild, we can’t now expect the youngest and hardest hit by the pandemic to be satisfied with minimum wage roles, when they can earn higher salaries elsewhere in office work or in retail.”

He added that, by continuing to pay staff minimum wage, bosses are ‘shooting themselves in the foot’ and ‘can’t expect to attract new entrants.’

In an attempt to tackle the crisis, many businesses are now offering retention payments, bonuses and work perks to incentivise people to stay in a role beyond six months, and wages across the industry are rising as staff are tempted elsewhere by pay rises.