UK Restaurant Industry’s Labour Shortages
In 2025, the UK restaurant industry is experiencing a significant restaurant staff shortage for several reasons. Rising operating costs, shifting employee expectations, and new immigration laws that have surfaced since the UK’s exit from the European Union (Brexit) are important examples of these. These issues are significantly affecting the industry’s organisations’ ability to attract and retain competent people. As a result, many businesses are having problems hiring, emphasising the significance of addressing these issues in order to maintain a competitive workforce.
Nonetheless, there is still hope for businesses that prioritise employee-friendly technologies and adopt creative hiring techniques. Adopting these approaches can help restaurants handle current challenges and preserve market competitiveness.
This article gives you seven actionable strategies – from sourcing candidates and motivating your team to creating an applicant-friendly hiring process – that you can implement immediately to ease staffing challenges. Each method is intended to help you hire more quickly, keep staff longer, and maintain operational efficiency.
1. Leverage Employee Referrals to Source Candidates
Most job postings do not attract qualified candidates. Ask your staff to “refer a friend” and family for open positions. Consider offering little incentives, such as coupons, monetary bonuses, or recognition programs, for successful referrals.
Referrals often result in a better cultural fit and higher staff retention rates. According to Glassdoor, referral hires are 55% faster to hire and stay in their positions than non-referrals.
A fast-casual restaurant in London managed to cut its hiring costs by 30% by implementing a staff referral program. They incentivised employees with £100 gift cards for successful referrals. This approach highlights how employee referrals can effectively reduce expenses while attracting top-notch candidates.
2. Use Multiple Recruitment Channels
Relying on a single job board limits your reach and would not solve your restaurant staff shortages. Diversify your hiring resources. Post jobs online using authorised platforms, but also use in-store materials like “Now Hiring” stickers, tray liners, and bag liners. Don’t ignore community resources – HR leaders, local schools, civic associations, and even competitors’ staff can be tapped for talent.
A multi-channel approach widens your candidate pool and reduces hiring time. For example, a Midlands pub business collaborated with local colleges to ensure a consistent supply of part-time employees during peak seasons.
3. Maintain an Applicant-Friendly Restaurant Environment.
Candidates often form their first impression of your company during their first visit. So, it’s important to keep your environment clean, welcoming, and professional at all times. This includes ensuring the exterior is tidy, the lobby is immaculate, and your team consistently projects professionalism. A polished environment signals to candidates that your restaurant values standards and respect, making them more likely to apply.
A polished environment signals to candidates that your restaurant values standards and respect – making them more likely to apply.
Research by Indeed shows that a staggering 67% of job seekers are deterred by a poor first impression during an application visit. This statistic emphasises the significance of keeping a welcoming and professional environment at all times.
4. Standardise the Recruitment Process Across Teams
Inconsistent responses from staff can confuse or discourage candidates. Make the restaurant “recruitment ready.” Train team members to provide consistent answers about job openings and ensure that pens and applications are always available, rather than always sending applicants to go online. A clear and smooth process demonstrates professionalism and reduces dropout rates during the hiring process.
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5. Show Respect to Candidates from Day One
Many applicants complain about being ignored or disrespected during the hiring process. Treat candidates like valued guests. Offer a beverage or snack, meet them with enthusiasm, and schedule interviews immediately after the application. Always follow up within 24 hours.
Respect during recruitment builds loyalty and enhances your employer brand. Candidates who feel respected are 38% more likely to accept offers, according to LinkedIn data.
By simply providing free coffee to applicants as they wait for their interviews, our casual dining business in London was able to increase its acceptance rate by 25%. Give it a try.
6. Provide Hiring Resources to Managers
Often, managers lack the time and experience needed to implement a methodical hiring process. By providing training and tools that teach managers how to distribute applications, perform prescreening, and utilise a proper team member recruitment checklist, they can achieve success.
Well-trained managers reduce hiring delays and improve candidate experience,which help with in reducing Restaurant Staff Shortages. A UK fast-food franchise reduced time-to-hire from 10 days to 3 days after equipping managers with digital prescreening tools.
7. Follow Up Quickly to Secure Talent
The best candidates often accept other offers before you act. Respond within 24 hours to every completed application. Even if you don’t hire that candidate, timely communication shows respect and helps maintain a strong brand reputation.
Speed is everything in today’s job market. According to CNBC, 70% of candidates lose interest if they don’t hear back within a week. We once increased candidate retention by 35% after setting a strict 24-hour follow-up policy.
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The First Ninety Days of Onboarding
The candidate experience doesn’t end when an offer is accepted; more than 75% of people understand the importance of good onboarding for employee retention.
To overcome Restaurant Staff Shortages, It may be advantageous to put in place a systematic onboarding approach.
- Learning Phase (First 7 Days): The main goal of this phase is to acquaint new personnel with their teams, roles, and the tools they will frequently use.
- Integration Phase (8-30 Days): It is important to work to foster teamwork and assist new hires in assimilating into the company culture during this phase.
3 Execution Phase (Days 31-90): To guarantee continued success and flexibility in their jobs, it’s critical to establish specific goals and track progress during this last stage.
By following these phases, restaurants can greatly enhance the onboarding experience, ultimately leading to higher retention rates and a more engaged workforce.
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Conclusion
One key strategy is to use employee referrals to solve your restaurant staff shortages. By reaching out to your current staff, you can find potential candidates who fit your restaurant’s culture and needs.This approach not only helps attract qualified applicants but also often leads to higher retention rates, as referred employees usually understand the workplace better.
Restaurant Staff Shortages (FAQs)
Does the UK have a shortage of hospitality workers?
Yes, it is expected that a significant staffing shortage will endure in the UK hospitality sector in the next few years. Restaurants and hotels have struggled to hire and retain staff due to Brexit-related constraints, rising living costs, and competition from other sectors. According to UKHospitality, vacancies in hospitality remain twice the national average.
Where are the UK’s labour shortages?
Construction, hospitality, healthcare, and logistics are the sectors with the most severe worker shortages. In the hospitality industry, front-of-house staff, chefs, and kitchen porters are among the most challenging roles to fill.
Due to mobility issues and high housing costs, shortages are especially severe in large cities, such as London, and are particularly acute in rural areas.
Which industries are experiencing a labour shortage?
In 2025, the following industries will have the most severe shortages:
- Catering and hospitality (chefs, waiters, bartenders)
- Healthcare (caretakers, nurses)
- Building (plumbers, electricians and bricklayers)
- Logistics (HGV drivers, warehouse operatives)
These sectors all struggle with both recruitment and retention, according to the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Is hospitality on the shortage occupation list?
Yes. Specific jobs in the hospitality industry, such as those of chefs, are listed as shortage occupations in the UK as of 2025. For some jobs, employers are less restricted in their ability to hire foreign workers. The exclusion of front-of-house and entry-level hospitality occupations, however, has exacerbated the workforce shortage in the sector.
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