Average hourly wages in the hospitality industry are on track to hit £10.60 in the next five years, according to data from Fourth. This would put pay in the sector above the National Living Wage (NLW) following the government’s proposed rise, as announced by chancellor Sajid Javid.
Hourly wages for workers in the hospitality industry have consistently outstripped the annual NLW legislative increases since its introduction in April 2016, with hourly wages growing about 4% a year.
Javid announced the proposed lowering of the age threshold for the £10.50 band from over-25s to over-21s. The statistics revealed this would have little impact on the hospitality industry, which has experienced a steady erosion of the wage gap between those two age groups, which has remained about 2% for the past six months.
The data also revealed all age groups are currently earning higher than their respective bracket and the gap between the hourly wage of age brackets has shrunk further. The average pay of those aged 18 to 20 is £7.88 – £1.73 higher than the current threshold of £6.15.
However, the statistics revealed potential for further wage pressures on the horizon, with a reduction in the number of EU workers in the industry, which currently make up 46% of the sector’s workforce.
Since the start of 2019, almost half (49%) of workers leaving the UK’s industry are from the EU, while the proportion of EU workers starting work in the UK has fallen from 46% to 43%. Analysing average wages by sector, the results show workers in quick service restaurants continue to command the highest hourly wage, an average £9.85, while the average wage of £8.75 in pubs is ahead of that paid to restaurant workers (£8.52).