- Chefs and other hospitality roles face removal from the UK’s skilled worker visa list, meaning employers in the sector will no longer be granted access to the immigration system. As reported by The Telegraph, chefs will be among 111 occupations that will no longer be eligible for the UK Skilled Worker visa under major immigration reforms announced by the Government that will prioritise jobs that are graduate-level or above. Alongside chefs there are currently several hospitality roles eligible for the UK Skilled Worker visa including various management positions in hotels, restaurants, and licensed premises, many of which are expected to fall below the Government’s new skills threshold.
- London-based Dim sum chain Ping Pong has ceased trading and closed its final four restaurants, bringing an end to its presence on the highstreet after 20 years. The group confirmed in a statement posted to Instagram that all Ping Pong restaurants, which included sites in Soho, Southbank, Bow Bells House and St. Christopher’s Place, are now permanently closed. No specific reason was given for the decision.
- Wingstop UK has been recognised as the fastest growing restaurant group in the UK by The Sunday Times 100 for the third year in a row. The fried chicken brand has been ranked 42nd on the list with sales of £171.7m, up more than 100% on the previous year. It ranked number 38th on the 2004 list. Wingstop UK launched in the UK in 2018 and has grown to 67 sites. The company has opened an 80-cover site in Plymouth this week and says it plans to open more than 20 new sites by the end of 2025. Next month it will open a site in Westfield Shepherd’s Bush, continuing its expansion across London, having recently opened in Streatham and Walthamstow.
- The Pack Horse chef Luke Payne has had to rebrand his upcoming Peak District restaurant Trillium after discovering that top Birmingham chef Glynn Purnell is poised to launch a venture of the same name. Payne’s Glossop restaurant, which will be pitched at a similar level to his highly rated Hayfield pub four miles down the road, will now trade as Almanac. The self-taught chef told Restaurant the rebrand has cost him nearly £30,000 — £8,000 in branding costs and £20,000 in lost revenue from an associated two-week delay.
- The use of zero hours contracts in their current form is to end in 2027, according to a Government roadmap on the implementation of its Employment Rights Bill. The timeline, unveiled today (1 July), also confirms that plans to tighten the law on tipping by mandating consultation with workers to ensure fairer tip allocation will come into force in October 2026, with a ban on fire and rehire practices being introduced at the same time. Alongside ending what the Government describes as ‘the exploitative use’ of zero hours contracts in 2027, the roadmap also promises to bring in rights to guaranteed hours for workers, strengthen existing rights to request flexible working and changes to an employees’ right to claim unfair dismissal at the same time. Responding to the announcement, trade body UKHospitality welcomed the Government’s clarity over when it will implement its plans, but warned that concerns remain over cost implications to businesses.