Bigger Europe will ease staff shortages

Hospitality businesses are likely to benefit from the enlargement of the European Union (EU), which took place last week.

Martin Couchman, deputy chief executive of the British Hospitality Association, said the addition of 10 new countries to the EU would help ease the industry's age-old problem of finding staff. "We're expecting more people to come in to work in the industry here, which is obviously a great thing," he said.

But the Government's introduction of a worker registration scheme for migrants from the new Eastern European member countries could cause some problems.

Under the scheme, workers from eight of the 10 new countries will have to register with the Home Office within a month of starting a new job in the UK. If they fail to do so, any business employing them will be breaking the law. It will be up to employers to check that workers are registered.

Couchman said that although businesses would have to be especially careful about employing people from those eight countries, he didn't think it would cause too big a problem for the industry. The enlargement is also expected to have a positive effect on inbound and outbound tourism.

n The Sectors Based Scheme, which was launched last May in a bid to ease the hospitality industry's labour problems, has now run out of the 10,000 new work permits it was granted for non-EU low-skilled workers, and is currently looking to expand its quota.

The 10 New EU Countries
Czech Republic
Estonia
Hungary
Latvia
Lithuania
Poland
Slovakia
Slovenia
Cyprus
\ Malta\

\* Worker registration not required