UK Hospitality and Financial Wellbeing

What is UKHospitality and what do we do?

UKHospitality is the leading trade body for hospitality, representing every corner of the sector. We represent more than 130,000 venues, from pubs, bars and restaurants to hotels, indoor leisure and contract catering.

Our members benefit from our dedicated campaigning to empower an environment for hospitality to thrive, in addition to expert insight, specialist support helplines and guidance on the key issues facing hospitality businesses.

A people business

Without the fantastic people working in hospitality – all 3.5 million of them – we simply wouldn’t be able to do what we do best. Whether it’s the front of house teams, chefs in the kitchen or numerous people behind the scenes, the experiences that hospitality is known for is dependant on our teams.

That’s where our Workforce Strategy comes in, with five key focuses for our work in this area. Those are skills and training, reputation of the sector, hospitality workforce infrastructure, working with devolved governments, and working lives.

That last section, in particular, is crucial because we want to enhance the working lives of people in hospitality and help their financial wellness. That includes making efforts to raise pay and improve pay structures, offer better-funded training and career progression, and working with governments on tax and welfare reforms to reflect living costs. 

Keeping our people happy and fulfilled is such a focus for the sector. We know that everyone is working hard to challenge the stereotype of working in hospitality and we all want to show what a fun, vibrant and fulfilling place it is to work.

Valuing your wellbeing

Employee wellbeing is critical to that, and we know that progression and development can be a critical way of achieving that, as well as driving a healthier financial wellbeing too.

Hospitality is unique in being able to offer opportunities for everyone and paths to progress rapidly up the career ladder. The phrase ‘from bar to board in a matter of years’ is well known across hospitality, because it’s true.

Businesses are passionate about giving their people the skills and opportunities they need to progress, while also supporting their physical and mental wellbeing too. That’s evidenced by numerous industry initiatives like the Hospitality Wellbeing and Development Promise and the Hotelier’s Charter, both of which have hundreds of signatories making cast-iron commitments in these areas.

We’ve backed changes from the Government too that will help put more money in the pockets of hospitality staff, like recent changes to tipping. New laws have been in effect for almost a year now that ensures every penny left in tips or service charge go directly to staff, to support their financial wellbeing and fairly reward them for their efforts.

What else is out there?

We want to make sure that our teams know what support is out there. One of the best go-to resources is the CareerScope hospitality support hub, which is designed specifically to support people in hospitality.

The hub offers resources and signposting for people to receive financial advice, develop skills through training and safeguard mental wellbeing, to name a few.

There are also fantastic charities out there, like the Licensed Trade Charity and Hospitality Action. Please do reach out to them if you need help or expert advice.