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CAFÉ MULTI-CULTURE

Just one in 50 applicants for a job at Pret a Manger is British, sandwich shop reveals

Chain said it will struggle to staff its cafes post-Brexit because it is ‘not seen always as a desirable place to work’

JUST ONE in 50 applicants for a job at Pret a Manger is British, the sandwich shop has revealed.

The high street chain said it will struggle to staff its cafes post-Brexit because it is “not seen always as a desirable place to work” for those from the UK.

 Just one in 50 applicants for a job at Pret a Manger is from the UK
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Just one in 50 applicants for a job at Pret a Manger is from the UKCredit: Getty Images

Andrea Wareham, its director of human resources, said the industry cannot attract a significant number of home-grown jobseekers.

Staff at the high-street chain come from 110 different nationalities, with 65 per cent of those from outside the UK being EU citizens, she said.

"I would say that one in 50 people that apply to our company to work is British," she told the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee.

 The chain says it would struggle to staff its cafes post-Brexit
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The chain says it would struggle to staff its cafes post-BrexitCredit: Alamy

"If I had to fill all our vacancies in British-only applicants I would not be able to fill them... because of a lack of applications."

The director said she doubted higher wages would draw UK citizens to the industry, after being questioned by Labour peer Lord Darling, who sits on the committee.

Ms Wareham said: "I actually don't think increasing pay would do the trick, I can only talk for Pret on this, but we do pay well above the National Living Wage, we do have great benefits and we offer fantastic careers.

"It really is a case of do people want to work in our industry? We are not seen always as a desirable place to work and I think that's the trick."

Her comments echo those of Brexit Secretary David Davis who said the door to the UK would not "suddenly shut" because it would take "years and years" to fill jobs in sectors that rely heavily on migrants, such as hospitality and social care.

It is not the first time the nationality of Pret employees has been in the spotlight, after in 2013 it was revealed eight in ten were foreign-born.

And it comes after a woman on Question Time caused uproar after asking on the programme post-Brexit: "Who will serve us our coffee in Pret?"

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