Dear politicians,

The hospitality industry is in dire need of support. Currently, there remain thousands of business operational up and down the country despite Boris Johnsons official advice to stay at home.

“Coronavirus: PM says everyone should avoid office, pubs and travelling”
 
The reason for this is because you refuse to tell businesses they must close. Failure in doing this means business owners cannot claim insurance to pay their staff, cannot apply for loans and/or grants as they are still operating as a market and, not to forget, is increasing the staffs risk of contracting COVID-19 as we interact with, in some establishments, hundreds of people each day.

“Boris Johnson warns Britons to avoid non-essential contact as Covid-19 death toll rises”

The current system of operation is to continue as normal whilst businesses are taking financial hits across the UK. We have been told to ‘try and limit wat we touch’ and to wash hands regularly. However, it is not impossible to imagine how much of a strain this puts upon staff’s mental health and well-being.

There are workers showing up to shifts and being told to wait for hours to start, as their bosses are unsure if they can afford them for the night. Many have been told they will receive no shifts for three months, whereas others are being told upon arrival to their place of work that they are no longer on the rota.

Until some action is put in place to protect hospitality staff’s financial circumstances, we continue to deplete into financial difficulty towards poverty and potential homelessness, whilst increasing our chances of infection.

However, you, our voted and trusted representatives, can help this struggling industry and its workers by; freezing all rent and bills, adjusting the accessibility to financial support from the government and increasing statutory sick pay from £94 p/w. Even one of these changes will make all the difference we need.

We need your help, and we need it now.