News
The latest industry news from the business journalists at Catering Today. We bring you the latest on what’s happening in the restaurants, bars and catering industry, with exclusive stories, analysis, best practice and industry comment.
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Apr- 2020 -16 April
Chancellor extends furlough scheme deadline
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has extended the deadline for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme after it was found that many people who had recently changed jobs were set to miss out. Under the scheme announced last month, employers can claim a grant covering 80% of the wages for a furloughed employee,…
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16 April
Mitchells and Butlers furloughs 99% of staff
Mitchells and Butlers announced it has furloughed 99% of its workforce in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The announcement came as the leading operator of managed restaurants and pubs, including Harvester, Toby Carvery, All Bar One and Miller and Carter, announced a series of measures to reduce its cost…
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16 April
KFC reopens 11 UK branches for takeaway amid Covid-19 crisis
KFC has announced it is reopening 11 of its 900 stores across the UK for takeaway orders. The fast-food restaurant made the decision to temporarily close its doors last month “protect the wellbeing and safety” of its customers and staff, following government regulations of a lockdown to help stop the…
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15 April
HMRC adds new guidance on Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
HMRC has issued new guidance regarding the Coronavirus Job Retention scheme and clarifies eligibility for those returning from sick leave and TUPE staff. Issued at the end of last week the third update to the scheme has provided clarification on all aspects of sick leave including those returning from maternity…
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15 April
UK demand for Chinese takeaway almost quadruples as lockdown continues
Orders of Chinese takeaways have nearly quadrupled in the UK over the last four weeks, according to Flipdish, the online ordering system for restaurants and takeaways. Demand has increased by 272%, only beaten by Indian food which has surged 294% in the last month with Pakora being the most popular…
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15 April
Just Eat extends NHS discount amid ‘unprecedented response’ due to Covid-19 crisis
Just Eat has announced that it will extend its new 25% discount for NHS workers after an “unprecedented response” amid the coronavirus pandemic. The food delivery service revealed, in the first two weeks alone NHS staff have ordered over one million meals and saved over £1.5mcollectively. Just Eat said the…
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15 April
Covid-19 could cause UK economy to shrink by 35%, says OBR
The UK’s economy could shrink by as much as 35% in the second quarter of 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has said. The watchdog is also predicting a 13% drop in annual GDP as a result of the outbreak, which it said would…
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15 April
Burger King ads banned over ‘misleading claims’
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a series of Burger King advertisements after they were deemed to be “misleading”. The ruling referred to three advertisements across the brand’s Twitter and Facebook feeds which promoted its Rebel Whopper, a plant-based burger that was pictured in all ads and accompanied by…
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14 April
Revolution raises credit facility
Revolution Bars has announced that it will increase its revolving credit facility to £30m following an agreement with NatWest. This will last until 31 August, when it will decrease to £24m as the group “begins to benefit from its normal positive working capital cycle” following the predicted easing of lockdown…
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14 April
Petition for Tronc payments to be included in furlough wages hits 6,000 signatures
A petition launched on change.org calling for the government furlough scheme to include tronc payments for hospitality staff has hit over 6,000 signatures. Currently, under the Job Retention Scheme, tronc payments such as tips and gratuities are not not included in the amount paid to furloughed workers. The petition, created…
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