Current status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 12 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of what the median hourly pay in the hospitality sector has been in each of the last 10 years.
The Scottish Government monitors pay in the hospitality sector using data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (table 5.6a) published by the Office for National Statistics. This data is available at https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/regionbyindustry2digitsicashetable5.
The latest available data shows that median gross hourly pay (excluding overtime) for all employees in the Accommodation and Food Services sector was estimated to be £10.89 in 2023. This was the lowest median hourly pay across all industrial sectors in Scotland for which data are published by ONS. The median gross hourly pay in the Accommodation and Food Service sector for the last 10 years is shown in the following table.
Table 1: Median gross hourly pay (excluding overtime) in the accommodation and food services sector, 2014-2023
YEAR | MEDIAN GROSS HOURLY PAY (EXCLUDING OVERTIME) |
2014 | £6.63 |
2015 | £7.00 |
2016 | £7.44 |
2017 | £7.69 |
2018 | £8.01 |
2019 | £8.52 |
2020 | £8.72 |
2021 | £8.90 |
2022 | £10.00 |
2023 | £10.89 |
Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, ONS
The Fair Work Convention considered pay, including information on median hourly pay, in the hospitality sector as part of its recent inquiry into fair work in the hospitality industry in Scotland. The Fair Work Convention Hospitality Inquiry Report will be published on 24 September 2024.
Fair work is at the heart of our national Tourism Strategy, Scotland Outlook 2030, which commits to support and enable the adoption of fair work practices in Scotland’s tourism and hospitality sector. We continue to promote fair work measures in the sector which will help businesses attract and retain staff and will carefully consider recommendations from the Fair Work Convention’s hospitality inquiry and take forward as appropriate.