The boss of café chain Pret A Manger says a rise in Britons among the firm’s workforce is “encouraging”, but says that an unrepresentative workforce remains “an industry-wide issue and there is no quick fix”.

The company’s hiring practices have come under fire for seeming to favour migrant workers, and the announcement of 1,000 new jobs at the company, at least half of which will come in the UK, has seen renewed interest in the firm’s position.

Chief executive officer Clive Schlee notes that year-on-year the British proportion of the Pret workforce has risen from 17% to 20%.

He comments: “We can’t guarantee more recruits are going to be British because that would be illegal.” But he also notes a multi-pronged approach to attracting more UK applicants, including a school leaver programme, increased awareness of jobs at the firm through advertising, and working with charity the Careers Development Group.

Schlee concludes: “We will always employ the very best people at Pret and we celebrate the rich diversity of our workforce and the atmosphere that brings to our shops.”