Hospitality workers such as chefs, bar-staff and waitresses, earn massively different salaries depending on where they work in Sussex, it was claimed.

Specialist recruitment firm Ashton Jones said a junior chef will earn £12,000 to £13,000 a year in Brighton and Hove, compared to £16,000 to £17,000 in Crawley.

According to the recruitment firm, employers in Brighton and Hove were able to take advantage of large influxes of migrant and seasonal labour to keep wages down.

The firm's findings put a question mark over claims by some in the city's large hospitality industry that the cost of living makes it difficult for them to retain staff.

Partner Rob Jones said: "The migrant population which comes to Brighton each year helps keep pay rates down.

"There's no shortage of takers for seasonal jobs in the hospitality sector in Brighton so employers don't have to pay top dollar. Workers have an advantage, however, that there's a lot of temporary low-cost accommodation readily available in Brighton.

"Chefs and hospitality workers in Crawley will earn significantly more for the same job and hours, but will struggle to find low-cost accommodation locally. Maybe the best fit is to live in Brighton, with all the advantages of the town, but travel the relatively short distance out to get a job."

The hospitality industry is crucial to Brighton and Hove's economy but there is huge staff turnover, with a typical worker staying in a job for only six months.

In July the City Centre Business Forum launched a £35,000 scheme to help hoteliers retain staff by improving health and safety and getting to grips with new work-related legislation.

Now it has emerged low wages may be one of the reasons why hotel owners in the city find it so difficult to hold on to staff for a reasonable length of time.

Tony Mernagh, executive director of the Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership, said: "We are running a programme at the moment to encourage employers in the hospitality sector to improve their recruitment procedures and grievance procedures.

"The idea is to make workers feel like they are in a proper job rather than just a temporary summer thing. I think that is one of the main issues."

Ashton Jones is part of the Search Consultancy group, based in Crawley.

April 12, 2005