The announcement of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme was a welcome lifeline, but with the assistance offered by the scheme likely to be cut substantially after 31 March, many operators in the hospitality sector may be forced to shut. A recent report for the British Beer and Pub Association shows that bills returning to their [...]

As all legal Covid restrictions have now been removed the Government has replaced regulations with principles based guidance for employers. The aim of the guidance is to reduce the risk of infection within the workplace whilst treating Covid-19 as any other respiratory illness going forward. The “Working Safely” guidance has now been removed but employers [...]

Unlocking the industry's potential On 3 March 2020 Leo Skinner, Charlotte Rees-John and Adam Boyd held a Q&A session with Kate Nicholls, OBE, CEO of UKHospitality about the issues facing the industry and how best to unlock the industry’s potential as we emerge from the pandemic. The following is a summary of the key points [...]

New legislation next year The government has announced its plans to make it illegal for hospitality companies (including pubs, cafes and restaurants) to withhold tips from their workers. Legislation obliging operators to pass on tips will be introduced within the next year.  The announcement is here  Currently, businesses who receive tips via card payment have [...]

As businesses reset for full reopening on the 19th July, you would be forgiven for missing that some of the temporary  lockdown protection and support measures have been extended for a fourth time, but some have also been allowed to expire. What business protections have been extended? As at 30 June 2021 a number of [...]

As a full re-opening looks possible on 19th July it might give customers more confidence if you could say that you required all staff to take Covid tests but is mandatory testing a good idea? Mandatory testing is a much-debated issue with Government statistics claiming that 1 in 3 people with Covid show no symptoms. [...]