The average pay of a hospitality worker over the age of 25 as of June 2016 was £7.47 – 27p higher than the National Living Wage.
Data collected from 4,000 hospitality businesses also showed that, since the introduction of NLW, the regional pay gap between London and areas north of the M25 has narrowed from 25p in 20142015 to 10p in 2016.
The highest performing sector during this period was the pub sector, with hourly sales rising 13% and wage costs decreasing 1%. In comparison, hourly sales in restaurants have risen 5% and their core wages have risen 0.6%, while quick service restaurants hourly sales have remained flat and their core wages have risen 2%.
The research, compiled by software company Fourth, also showed gender differentials – men paid an average of £7.53 (in 2016), which is 1.9% more than women (£7.40) on average. This 1.9% pay gap between men and women in 2016 has remained the same from 2015, which was down from 3% in 2014.
Actual pay could rise “as high as £9.45 in 2020”, said Mike Shipley, analytics and insight solutions director at Fourth. With chef shortages, increasing wage competition from retailers, uncertainty stemming from Brexit and increases to living wages for under 24s, it’s “imperative operators look at ways to improve their efficiency”, he added.
Figures from CGA Peach published recently showed that 65% of CEOs think the target living wage of £9 by 2020 is unrealistic.
