What does the King’s Speech mean for hospitality?

The new government has set out its priorities for the year in its inaugural King’s Speech.

The packed legislative agenda includes action on workers’ rights and drink spiking but left out promised reforms to business rates.

Here’s a look at some of the key policy announcements and how they could impact the hospitality industry.

Pay and workers’ rights

Most of the changes around working practices will be covered in a new Employment Rights Bill.

This will be introduced within Labour’s first 100 days in office and is described by the government as “the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation”.

It will include the much-publicised ban on zero-hours contracts, which some reports had suggested may be watered down.

Employers will also be required to give workers “reasonable notice” of any changes to shifts and compensation for any cancelled or curtailed shifts. This could force many hospitality venues to change their staffing policy and ensure rotas are fixed further in advance.

Parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal will be made available to all workers from day one on the job, although employers will still be able to use a probation period to assess new hires.

Operators could also see a rise in their wage bill as Labour has promised to introduce a “genuine living wage” to reflect the cost of living. It will also remove age bands on the minimum wage. This could see under 21s, whose minimum rate is currently £2.84 per hour lower than older adults, given a major pay boost.

Keeping customers safe

A new law will require venues and events to take steps to mitigate the impact of a potential terrorist attack.

These will vary depending on the size of the premises but include practical measures such as educating staff on locking doors and evacuation procedures. UKHospitality has worked with government to ensure smaller venues can create bespoke plans and requirements are designed to be simple and low-cost following industry concerns.

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, also known as Martyn’s Law, has been driven by the campaigning of Figen Murray, whose son Martyn Hett was among the 22 victims of the Manchester Arena attack.

Spiking

A new law will be introduced to make spiking a specific criminal offence. While it is already a crime, Labour hopes creating a separate law will help police better respond to incidents.

Planning

The government’s line on planning reform will be welcomed by many hospitality businesses who have had their expansion plans put on hold by council delays. New laws will be designed to modernise planning committees, improve their decision making, and provide a more “predictable” service for developers and investors.

Training and skills

Labour has pledged to reform the apprenticeship levy following a long campaign by UKHospitality. It is likely this will give businesses more flexibility on how funds are used, and apprenticeship courses are run.

A new organisation called Skills England will work with employers, the Migration Advisory Committee, unions, and education and training providers to assess the current and future needs of businesses. In what could be a positive move for hospitality, it wants to create a formal link between training policies and migration data around the number of work visas issued.

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said this could “go a long way” in tackling hospitality staff shortages that have forced venues to close or reduce their trading hours.

Health

The government plans to restrict advertising of junk food and the sale of high caffeine energy drinks to children.

Checks on businesses

New laws around financial reporting and the conduct of company directors are designed to protect workers and suppliers from rogue employers. A draft bill will replace the Financial Reporting Council with a new regulator with wider powers. It comes after 11,000 jobs were lost with the collapse of BHS and 30,000 subcontractors were left unpaid following the liquidation of construction giant Carillion.

What was missing?

There was no mention of business rates reform, despite Labour promising to “level the playing field” between high street venues and online giants.

UKHospitality said it was important the manifesto pledge was honoured in the Autumn Statement as 75% rate relief was due to end next April without government action.

John Webber, head of business rates at Colliers, said “more than 30 years of mismanagement” had created a property tax system that was “not fit for purpose”.

Webber added: “With declining high streets across the country, there is no excuse for the new government to avoid addressing the business rates problem or to introduce significant reform. We urge them to act soon.”

What was the hospitality industry reaction?

Hospitality trade bodies had a broadly positive response to the announcements.

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said: “The next session of Parliament will be essential in kickstarting the growth needed to achieve the Government’s objectives.

“It’s positive to see significant measures announced today that can help hospitality achieve its growth potential of 6% a year."

The BBPA said it was pleased to see the government prioritise growth for businesses and workers after a challenging few years for pubs, brewers and their staff.