The ALMR has criticised Government plans to effectively name and shame employers of non-UK nationals and highlighted the crucial work these employees do filling skills gaps in the UK hospitality sector.
ALMR Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said: “Any plan to spotlight those businesses deemed not to be doing enough to support British workers would be hugely unhelpful and shows a lack of understanding of the way in which many operate.
“Pubs, bars and restaurants do not actively recruit abroad seeking foreign workers, they recruit locally and it is unfair to imply that businesses are failing to support the UK workforce or failing in their duty to provide opportunities or training. Pubs, bars and restaurants invest a significant amount of time and money in their employees whether they are UK or non-UK nationals. Any implication that UK businesses are failing the UK populace by hiring migrant workers is unfair and uninformed.
“Migrant workers make up 24% of the total hospitality workforce and they do a valuable and much-appreciated job in roles that can be hard to fill. Research by People 1st shows that the hospitality industry will need to recruit 11,000 chefs by 2024. With colleges reporting a decline in interest for full-time chef programmes, hospitality businesses will have to work hard to fill these and other vacancies, and non-UK workers will make a vital contribution filling these gaps.
“This is not a deliberate effort to undermine the British workforce, it is a sector responding to pressures and attempting to fill a very difficult skills shortage. The Government does not need to determine what is or isn’t an appropriate proportion of non-UK workers and measures to effectively name and shame such employers are unhelpful and misguided.”