Hospitality recruitment may be shutting out neurodivergent workers, Bournemouth report says

Hospitality employers in the UK could be losing capable staff because of the way they recruit, according to a new report by researchers at Bournemouth University. A summary of the report was published on 10 November 2026 by the Accessible Hospitality Alliance.

The report is called Neurodiversity at Work in Hospitality: Supporting Access to Employment and Inclusive Working Lives. Its authors are Dr Charalampos Giousmpasoglou and Dr Evangelia Marinakou, both principal academics at Bournemouth University, and Professor Peter Jones MBE, who chairs The Crumbs Project. The summary was written by the authors themselves, so it shows how they see their own findings. We could not find independent comment on the report before publishing.

The problem starts at the front door

The authors say ordinary hiring methods can screen out good candidates without anyone meaning to. They point to complex online application forms, rigid selection criteria and traditional interviews. Some people show their skills better through a practical task or supported work experience than by answering questions in a formal interview.

Put simply, the authors are saying a formal interview may not show how well someone could run a bar, cook or look after guests, and that a practical assessment might show it better.

Getting the job is only the start

The report says what happens after the job offer matters just as much. It names clear communication, a structured induction (the first weeks of training and settling in), suitable workplace adjustments and real chances to progress as the things that help neurodivergent staff do well and stay.

Examples from Bournemouth

The report draws on two local organisations. The Crumbs Project is a Bournemouth disability training charity. It teaches hospitality, catering and life skills, and links trainees with local employers. Professor Jones chairs the charity, so the report’s authors have a connection to one of the examples they describe.

The second example is Marsham Court Hotel, an independent family-run hotel in Bournemouth. According to the report, the hotel combines accessible recruitment, mentoring, disability awareness training and partnerships with specialist organisations. The report says 21% of the hotel’s staff have a declared disability. That figure covers disability in general, not neurodivergence specifically. The hotel’s co-owner, James Dixon-Box, is the UK Government’s Disability and Access Ambassador for Hospitality.

Small changes, not big budgets

The authors stress that inclusive hiring doesn’t need to cost much. Their suggested starting points include:

• clearer, simpler job descriptions
• more flexible ways of recruiting, such as practical assessments
• better day-to-day supervision
• stronger links with specialist training and employment support organisations

They want hospitality businesses, colleges, charities and policymakers to work more closely together, so that support carries on after someone is hired. They also call for more research into neurodivergent hospitality workers’ own experiences, how adjustments work in practice, and whether employer partnerships really deliver.

The authors’ main point is that neuroinclusion should be part of everyday people management in hospitality, not a separate diversity project. The sector still faces persistent pressure to recruit and keep staff, and they argue that removing unnecessary barriers could help build a steadier workforce.

What we don’t know yet

The summary doesn’t say how many people the research involved or how the evidence was gathered. It also doesn’t include the views of neurodivergent workers themselves. The full report is listed through a Bournemouth University DOI link, but that page blocked our access when we tried to open it, so we haven’t been able to check the details. We would welcome hearing from neurodivergent people working in hospitality about whether these findings match their experience.

This piece summarises reporting by the Accessible Hospitality Alliance. Read the original articles for the full story.