ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the link between the policies of neoliberalism and the slave-like situation that many hospitality workers endure. Minimum-wage levels provide a supposed standard below which pay should not slip. Yet the minimum is flawed and not a true reflection of a ‘living wage’, as its protections only apply if they keep pace with inflation and are supported by an effective monitoring system. In the UK, a substantial minority of hospitality employers pay below these already low legal minimum rates. The result is that many of those living in poverty are working, and a substantial number are employed in the hospitality industry. So as to better understand the poverty caused by neoliberal policies, the chapter reports on the disturbing findings of the Special Rapporteur appointed by the United Nations in 2019 to examine extreme poverty and human rights in the UK. Findings suggest that a substantial share of those living in poverty are in households where one or more members are employed. Hospitality managers have an ethical duty to avoid paying poverty wages and thereby perpetuating neo-slavery amongst society’s most vulnerable citizens.
