Hospitality’s Hidden Talent Pool: Can The Older Workforce Help Solve the UK’s Hospitality Staffing Shortage?

By Josie Beal, Legal Director in the employment team at Birketts LLP (www.birketts.co.uk)

The hospitality industry is powered by people, the smiles, the service, the sense of welcome. People aren’t just part of the industry; they are its lifeblood. In a sector where service defines success, attracting and retaining the right people isn’t just important, its critical.

However, the sector has faced persistent staffing challenges.

According to the Office for National Statistics, vacancies peaked at more than 112,000 last year. But a demographic shift might offer hope: over 50s now make up one-third of the hospitality workforce and their numbers have grown by 165,000 in just three years, a study by Caterer.com found. Data from the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggests there has been an increase in 50- to 64-year-olds returning to the workforce and, according to Rest Less, 70% of over 50s would consider a hospitality career.

Why older workers matter
Older workers can bring reliability, strong customer service skills, and experience that can enhance team stability and guest satisfaction. Research even suggests that businesses with a higher proportion of older employees can be more productive.

Legal considerations
Age is a protected characteristic under Equality Act 2010, and employers should be mindful that recruitment strategies that target or exclude specific age groups risk discrimination claims. Employers should therefore avoid focusing exclusively on one demographic and instead ensure recruitment processes are inclusive, appeal to a broad range of applicants and do not disadvantage those with a particular protected characteristic (including but not limited to age).

Building an inclusive recruitment strategy
Instead, employers should strive to adopt an inclusive recruitment strategy which will appeal to a wide range of applicants, including adopting an age friendly culture. Employers can take a number of practical steps.

• Inclusive job adverts and recruitment processes: employers should audit job adverts to remove any bias, including age bias, and ensure that the language used is inclusive – for example, in the case of age, avoiding age-related language such as “young and energetic”. Employers should also consider how their recruitment processes could reach a diverse audience by, for example, allowing paper or in person applications in addition to applications online and via recruitment consultant.

• DEI policies and training: employers should have policies and training in place covering diversity, equity and inclusion. In order to foster a genuinely inclusive culture, employers should ensure these are embedded in the workforce and ensure that managers and those involved in recruitment are trained in implementing these policies and practices, so that they lead by example.

• Flexibility: one of the key advantages within the sector is that there is often the ability to work flexibly, which can appeal to a diverse range of applicants. Employers may wish to showcase this as part of the recruitment process for example spotlighting part time, seasonal and job-sharing opportunities.

• Upskilling opportunities: employers should consider outlining the training, upskilling opportunities and support that will be available as part of the induction process. For example, in relation to the technology employees may be required to operate such as tills, card machines and online training programmes – to avoid discouraging applicants who may not be familiar with such technology.

• Culture and belonging: creating a sense of belonging and showcasing culture is a powerful recruitment and retention tool. To appeal to applicants of all ages, employers can showcase intergenerational teams in job adverts and social media. When candidates see themselves reflected in an organisation’s culture, they are more likely to apply and stay.

The rise in older workers joining the hospitality sector is encouraging given the staffing challenges faced by the industry. However, employers should avoid focussing on one particular demographic alone when considering recruitment strategies as this may risk disadvantaging other applicants and may be discriminatory under Equality Act 2010.

Instead, employers should use these insights as a prompt to audit recruitment processes to ensure that they are inclusive and appeal to a wide range of applicants. This will include applicants of diverse ages, but also a wide range of other applicants. By embracing flexibility, inclusivity, and belonging, hospitality businesses can unlock a vital talent pool, helping to stabilise staffing and strengthen the sector for the future.