PizzaExpress have announced their plans to recruit 1,000 new staff with 300 of these new starters being supported by the governments Kickstart scheme. The chain had to close 100 restaurants as part of it's financial restructuring during national lockdowns.

This move by the chain reflects the wider staff shortages being announced by businesses across the hospitality sector. With thousands of workers leaving the industry during the pandemic, either to return to their home countries or to move to new jobs, operators are now facing a scramble to secure their workforces.

The UK's largest listed pub group, Mitchells & Butlers, have estimated that around 9,000 out of their 39,000 staff members have left the business, secured work elsewhere and are not considering returning to work for the group.

According to UKHospitality the hospitality industry had around 2 million staff on furlough, with 660,000 people working in the sector losing their job and many others finding work elsewhere in the retail and home delivery markets, which have boomed during lockdown. Industry insiders are predicting that the full scale of staff shortages has yet to be uncovered.