Furlough
Our coverage of the furlough scheme and its impact on the UK foodservice, hospitality, and catering sectors. We report on government policy updates, employer experiences, sector-specific challenges, and the operational and financial implications for restaurants, pubs, bars, and contract caterers. From workforce retention and reopening strategies to lessons learned post-scheme, this content supports industry professionals navigating staffing, recovery planning, and long-term resilience in a post-pandemic landscape.
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Apr- 2020 -15 AprilCoronavirus
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 AprilComment
Covid-19: Cleanology – investing in cleaning for the long term
It is hard to believe that just a month ago, the cleaning industry was celebrating success at the Golden Service Awards. And today we are on the front line of a war against a virus. It brings everything into perspective, that for all the power, money and success in the…
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14 AprilCoronavirus
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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9 AprilCoronavirus
AAB calls on government to enhance support for businesses
Accountancy firm Anderson Anderson and Brown (AAB) has called on the UK Government to implement a series of “wide-reaching” measures aimed at helping businesses to survive the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Lyn Calder, managing partner and also the firm’s head of deals for the Central Belt in Scotland,…
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8 AprilCoronavirus
Hospitality slowdown worsens with 98% collapse in shifts
The hospitality industry has now suffered a 98% slowdown as the coronavirus shutdown continues to weigh heavily on the sector, according to income streaming provider Wagesteam. Wage stream found that the number of shifts being carried out by workers in the hospitality industry has fallen 97.96% month on month, deteriorating…
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7 AprilCoronavirus
Hospitality workers deserve full earnings from furlough scheme, says UKH
UKHospitality has urged the Government to reconsider its decision to exclude tronc payments from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Under the Job Retention Scheme, tronc payments such as tips and gratuities will not be included in the amount paid to furloughed workers. UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said the decision…
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6 AprilCoronavirus
‘Massive surge’ in applications to hospitality jobs amid lockdown measures
Applications to hospitality jobs “soared” by 119.9% month-on-month in March, as the industry’s professionals “desperately scrambled” for work amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the latest report from independent job board CV Library. The study, which explores job market data from March 2020 and compares this with figures from February…
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Mar- 2020 -30 MarchBusiness Bites
The minimum wage increase is about to hit – and it beggars belief
As if to bang the final nail into the coffin himself, we can only assume the Treasury’s top man, chancellor Rishi Sunak, refuses to give ground on the next wave to crash over the retail and hospitality industries. I am talking of course about the increase in the National Minimum…
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30 MarchCoronavirus
Carluccio’s enters administration
Geoff Rowley and Phil Reynolds, partners at specialist business advisory firm FRP, have been appointed joint administrators of Italian restaurant chain Carluccio’s. The directors of the company said they made the decision to place the chain into administration after a “sustained period of challenging trading conditions”, which have been “exacerbated”…
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27 MarchComment
What we know about furlough leave and the CJRS
HMRC published details of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) on 26.3.20 which are available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme Key points include: Employees that employers can claim CJRS for For the purposes of CJRS, the definition of employee would include workers and agency workers provided they are subject to PAYE i.e. this…
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