Pubs and Restaurants Warn 10pm Curfew will ‘Kill Off 1 Million Jobs’

The hospitality and entertainment sector has warned the 10pm curfew will leave many firms struggling to survive and it risks putting a ­million people out of work.

The consequences of Boris Johnson’s latest Covid-19 clampdown

THE 10pm curfew comes into force for hospitality businesses today. Other restrictions include venues only operating table service, and the number allowed at weddings and civil partnership ceremonies has been halved to 15. Pub landlords, cafe owners, caterers, theatres and sports clubs told of their despair at the restrictions. The curfew will leave them facing six more months of lost trade. There were renewed calls for the Chancellor to continue the vital furlough lifeline beyond the end of October.

Nearly a quarter of pubs, restaurants and bars could go bust by the end of the year without additional government support. The prediction comes as the government announced the 10 pm curfew on hospitality firms in England from today, and with furlough winding down by the end of October, it could prove to be a hammer blow for businesses and employees.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to give a statement today outlining the government’s approach to “continue protecting jobs through the winter” – the clearest sign yet some additional help might be given to some sectors of the economy. It remains to be seen whether the hospitality industry could benefit from the announcement.

The British Beer & Pub Association, UK Hospitality and the British Institute of Innkeeping reveal the problems the industry as a whole is facing. They have all called on the government to extend the furlough scheme beyond October, extend the VAT cut and business rates holiday, as well as reduce the beer duty in the upcoming Autumn Budget.

Of those which said they could survive beyond the end of this year with the current levels of government support, a further 26 per cent said they did not expect their businesses to survive beyond mid-2021 without additional help. The shocking survey’s findings also reveal the extent of job losses in the hospitality sector, which is estimated to employ around three million people in the UK.

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