Youth Contract: Hospitality businesses urged not to miss out on wage incentives

By Peter Ruddick

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Employment

Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) signs a new partnership with Employment Minister, Mark Hoban MP
Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) signs a new partnership with Employment Minister, Mark Hoban MP
Leading hospitality trade bodies, including the BBPA, have signed a new partnership with the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) as businesses are urged to take advantage of the wage incentives available to them.

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) and Business in Sport and Leisure (BISL) are two of six trade bodies which this week signed a so-called memorandum of understanding with Employment Minister, Mark Hoban MP.

Youth Contract

The partnership is designed to improve awareness among Jobcentre Plus staff of the positive career opportunities available working in pubs, hotels and restaurants, and in turn for associations to make sure their members are aware of the benefits that are open to them.

Last week, a spokesperson for the DWP told pub operators gathered at a Pub & Bar Careers Perceptions briefing​ that a number of them could be entitled to a benefit without realising it.

Employers in all sectors may be entitled to £2,275 for each 18-24-year-old they employ full-time for at least 26 weeks - the employee needs to have been unemployed for six months, receiving benefits through Jobcentre Plus, before taking on the role. 

Partnership

Both the BBPA and BISL have now committed to keeping their members informed of opportunities such as the Youth Contract as long as the DWP sell the benefits of a career in hospitality.

"I want to make sure all young people have a good start to their careers," Hoban said this week. "That is why it is important for the Government to work with employers and trade associations. So I’m really pleased to be signing partnership agreements with six major trade associations, including Business in Sport and Leisure (BISL).

BBPA chief executive Brigid Simmonds said: “I am very pleased to be signing this agreement, which will enable us to work more closely and effectively with the DWP. It’s a real recognition that the Government recognises the potential for job creation in our sector and is giving this a strong priority. 

"Since 45 per cent of those who work in pubs are under the age of 25, we have a real ability to employ young people.  I hope together we can deliver positive results," she concluded.

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