'Cafe, bar jobs in UK gone by May if laws don't change'

Hotel, cafe and dining chains in the UK will fail and jobs will go if the government does not do more to help the industry, a trade group has warned Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

In a letter to Sunak, lobby group UK Hospitality on Friday said that the coronavirus pandemic was an "existential threat" to the sector, the BBC reported.

It wants to change laws to allow temporary staff redundancies.

UK Hospitality boss Kate Nicholls said, without help, "a significant number" of jobs could disappear by May.

In the letter, seen by the BBC, Nicholls suggested broader support for the sector such as introducing measures "to permit temporary staff redundancies where demand falls substantially - with Universal Credit covering wage costs".

Speaking to the BBC on Friday, Nicholls said that even some of the largest hotel chains, pub chains and casual dining brands all "run the risk of not existing going forward", such is the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

"This is business-critical - these are cash businesses, put simply, if you don't have people coming through the door, you will run out of cash very quickly.

"So we are talking about intervention that is needed next week to make sure that in six to eight weeks these businesses continue to trade, and if we don't get that support, by May, we will be facing business failures and a significant number of jobs at risk," she told the BBC. IANS