By Neo Lekhela, Najma Sultan, Fatoumata Coulibaly and Chibueze Oyo
Small restaurants in the Highbury and Islington area are struggling to hire staff as they face the reality of the economic crisis, as larger restaurant chains are able to weather through the storm.
The hospitality industry has been in a constant slump. People are being faced with rising uncertainty within the economic climate. The effects of Brexit mixed with the cost of living crisis has created a wave of uncertainty within the hospitality industry and the British public.
Data from The Office of National Statistics shows that between May and July 2022 there 173,000 vacancies that had not been filled within the industry. The figures reveal that is an increase by 44,000 (34%) compared to last year.
In Highbury and Islington, there is a mixed sentiment. Shakeer Shakeer, restaurant manager at the local fast food chain Subway, said that his chain haven’t experienced many issues hiring staff.
“Subway is a huge chain, it is a lot easier to attract and retain staff even in this current economic climate. Subway offer a competitive salary and can provide benefits to its workers that some smaller business are not able to.”
Smaller businesses seem to be at the heart of the hospitality crisis. Hassan Bassal, restaurant manager at Eroma Cafe near London Metropolitan University, said that hiring new staff has been “extremely difficult” since Brexit.
Many European workers left the UK due to Brexit, which left the hospitality industry struggling to survive. A significant percentage – more than one-third – of hospitality workers in largely unskilled jobs came from overseas, with most from the continent.
“Retaining staff has been the main issue, people are realising that hospitality isn’t the industry they
want to be in so instead people are opting for industry within an office environment or one where they think there is a good chance of progression,” said Bassal.
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