GLA Conservative Tony Arbour, who calculated the figures, said that making the Living Wage compulsory could cost £4bn and threaten 213,247 hospitality jobs across the UK.
He called for small business tax cuts and VAT cuts throughout the hospitality sector to boost wages without the need for reducing workforces.
Arbour said: “It’s an ideal win-win situation for businesses, employees and the public purse, it puts more cash into people’s pockets and improves working conditions. But forcing firms to sign up to this, especially start-ups and small businesses - such as B&Bs, restaurants and coffee shops - will only hurt them and may even put them out of business.
“What we need instead are common-sense measures designed to ease the burden on business and boost pay for employees, such as VAT cuts in the hospitality sector. I will work with the Mayor of London and lobby the government, to make sure pay can be boosted without the need for price hikes or sackings. These tax cuts will pay for themselves through reduced dependency on in-work benefits and increased tax-revenues.”
The national Living Wage is £7.85, whilst the national Minimum Wage is £6.50. Figures from the Low Pay Commission reveal that there are 1,332,200 minimum wage jobs in the UK.
The Tory GLA member also calculated figures for London only and found that it could cost the London economy £612m and 32,287 jobs in the hospitality sector. The London Living Wage is currently calculated at £9.15.
The hospitality sector employed 1,929,000 people according the latest available figures from 2012 and the sector generated £36.544bn, meaning that the average hospitality job costs £18,950 including wages, training and other business running costs.