What Impact has Immigration had on Eating Out? - UK - May 2008

Abstract

Migrant workers have always been a key part of the eating out industry, traditionally providing a source of readily available labour, particularly in low-grade and unskilled positions, where there has been a shortage of UK residents due to a stigma on hospitality careers. With the accession of the so-called A8 countries, including Poland and Lithuania, in May 2004, there was a fresh and large influx of employees into the hospitality trade generally, which has facilitated the continued growth of the eating out market and enabled major chain operators to expand their estates.

It is now widely acknowledged within the industry that it could not operate without the significant migrant workforce underpinning its foundations. However, there is cause for concern on several fronts such as the fact that the number of people entering the catering sector from the A8 countries is declining. Furthermore a new immigration system is to be introduced shortly which threatens to force many existing non-EU restaurant staff to return home and will severely restrict operators' ability to recruit people from countries outside the EU.

This report assesses the current status of the eating out industry in terms of its reliance on migrant workers, the factors that are driving the use of migrant workers and the growth of the industry. It also attempts to outline the trade' s perspective on a range of issues related to immigration, not least of which is the points-based system which threatens to severely destabilise the industry, particularly the ethnic restaurants sector, which derives the vast majority of its employees from non-EU countries. The report considers the hypothesis that ‘the major impact of immigration on the eating out industry has been at an operational level' as opposed to creating opportunities for new restaurant formats targeting the immigrant community.

Main themes of the report:

• Extent of industry' s reliance on migrant workers.
• Potential slowdown in influx of migrant workers from A8 countries.
• Reduction of pool of non-EU employees for industry in wake of introduction of points-based system.
• Threat to long-term prospects for ethnic restaurants sector.
• Need for more training in the UK to compensate for shortages.
• Potential stimulation of eating out formats/menu flavours.