Hospitality jobs could be at risk after coronavirus lockdown despite Government support says trade union

With many hospitality businesses forced to close during the coronavirus pandemic, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has put in place multi-billion-pound measures to aim to safeguard jobs.

But Unite has warned that some companies are still choosing to lay staff off.

An estimated two million people are employed in the UK’s hospitality trade, according to official figures.

In the East Midlands 127,465 people work in hospitality and 1,690 of those are in West Lindsey.

Unite’s national officer for hospitality, Dave Turnbull, said: “These figures show just how many people rely on the hospitality industry for employment, and the severity of the dangers the coronavirus crisis poses to their livelihoods and the health of local economies in general.”

He warned that many workers in the sector are “never more than a pay cheque away from the breadline”.

Mr Turnbull said the union was already coming across examples of businesses which had decided to lay staff off rather than place them on furlough under the Government’s scheme.

And he said there was “no excuse for companies not to join the scheme and so protect their workforces”.

He said: “For bosses that don’t rehire fired staff or refuse to sign up to the job retention scheme, Unite’s message is clear: We will expose you, we challenge your behaviour and we will take legal action for unfair dismissals.”

Hospitality trade association UKHospitality also urged employers to sign up to the wage-support scheme.

Its chief executive, Kate Nicholls, said that “not only will it safeguard jobs, it will also put the sector in a much stronger position to help rebuild the economy after the crisis has passed”.

A rescue package for businesses and workers was announced, which included the promise of a wage-support scheme for workers across the UK.

Emergency legislation to help businesses with rents has also been introduced.

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