Kate Nicholls, the chair of UK Hospitality, a trade body which represents more than 700 companies and 123,000 venues in the hospitality industry, called on the chancellor to reduce the industry’s tax burden “if businesses are expected to sustain this level of annual wage increase”.
“Hospitality businesses have reached their limit of absorbing seemingly endless additional costs. They will simply all be passed through to the consumer, ultimately fuelling inflation.”
Jane Gratton, deputy director of public policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, added every above-inflation wage increase “leads to higher business costs, lower investment and fewer opportunities for individuals”.
“There’s a limit to how much additional cost employers can bear without something having to give,” she said.
The chair of the Low Pay Commission, Philippa Stroud, said it had considered the effect a raise would have on employers.
Baroness Stroud, a Conservative peer, said: “In our discussions this year with workers and employers alike, it has been clear that no one is having an easy time.”
