With the accommodation and food services sector facing new COVID-related trading restrictions, and with the ending of the current furloughing scheme fast approaching, new ONS data highlights the extent to which workers within this industry may be limited by employment rights protections.
In the year to March 2020, an average of 48% of all those working within the sector had been engaged for less than 2 years with their current hirer. As such, crucially, they are unlikely to be afforded any redundancy protection if their positions are no longer sustainable. And, as an example, of the potential scale of job losses looming for the sector, Whitbread recently announced 6,000 redundancies across the UK.
Across all sectors, the average percentage of workers with less than 2 years’ service is 28%.
By occupation, the proportion with less than 2 years of service ranged from 18% of managers, directors, and senior officials to 42% of all in elementary occupations.
