Opportunity

Opportunity allows people to access and progress in work and employment and is a crucial dimension of fair work. The Inquiry considered opportunity in the hospitality sector and found the following key points:

• The sector is relatively diverse and employs larger shares of equality groups compared with the Scottish economy overall.
• Just over half of employees in the accommodation and food services sector (2022) were women. Despite this, there is some evidence which suggests that women are underrepresented in managerial roles.
• One-third of the accommodation and food services workforce in 2022 was aged 16-24 (three times more than the Scotland-wide figure). The sector frequently gives young people their first contact with the labour market, providing an opportunity to work, often whilst also in education or other training roles.
• The sector has one of the lowest proportion of workers aged 50 and over.
• The sector has a notable reliance on non-UK nationals, with EU and non-EU nationals making up almost a fifth of the workforce in 2022, nearly double the Scottish figure. Most migrant workers in hospitality are likely to be working in low-level occupational groupings with low wages (e.g. waiting staff and housekeeping) and are generally more likely to work shifts, be overqualified for their role and have non-permanent contracts compared to UK-born workers.
• In 2022, 14.2% of workers in the accommodation and food services sector were disabled which was lower than in Scottish employment as a whole (17.1%). This is a change from 2020 data where the sector was closer to the Scotland average.
• Offering flexible working is often cited as a strength of the sector by hospitality employers. Evidence gathered as part of the Inquiry, however, details that many workers do not consider the sector to be flexible for their needs. This is particularly true for those who are balancing other responsibilities outside work such as caring responsibilities (predominately women), education (predominately younger workers) or other work commitments.
• Employability Services promote social inclusion by seeking to tackle the difficulties people face in finding suitable work due to lack of experience, skills, opportunity or other barriers such as disability. Hospitality employers often play a vital role in terms of social inclusion by providing entry level roles for groups that can find it difficult to access employment opportunities.

The hospitality industry is relatively diverse and plays an important role in providing routes into work and entry level positions. The important role that hospitality plays in social inclusion and providing work for highly marginalised groups is often overlooked.

With persistently high vacancy rates across the hospitality sector, there is a business need to maximise the potential workforce entering the sector as well as maximising recruitment and retention. The opportunity dimension focuses on fair, open and accessible employment and progression, irrespective of personal characteristics.

Focusing on providing equal access to work, training and progression opportunities, along with tackling pay gaps, and addressing bullying and harassment, including from customers, could support improved retention and fair work outcomes for workers, particularly those with protected characteristics.