Staff shortages threaten indoor hospitality reopening

Author
Ian Mean
Director of Business West Gloucestershire | Vice Chair of GfirstLEP | Business West
11th May 2021

Hospitality, one of Gloucestershire’s key business sectors brought to its knees by COVID, is about to open up again.

From next Monday 17th May, hotels, restaurants and pubs will be re-opening their doors fully again to customers.

This should be a joyous time for these hospitality establishments after so many stop-starts and dark days due to the COVID restrictions.

There is much excitement in these businesses but also a lot of worry.

This is because at the last count, Gloucestershire had over 38,000 people on furlough.

And I estimate that two thirds of that number were employed in the hospitality and retail sectors.

Sadly, many of those employed in hospitality will have now taken new jobs.

Many of those will not be coming back to what generally were zero hours contract jobs with most on minimum wages.

And a lot of them will now have guaranteed jobs with higher salaries. 

Who can blame them for not returning to hospitality which has had such a torrid time?

Steve Gardner-Collins, director of Visit Gloucestershire, told me: 

“This next week seems to be a really joyous turning point for the hospitality sector - a final re-opening with the promise of no further lockdowns.

“As long as we are open and trading, we need the skills and the people.”

But there is now an issue with recruiting with so many people taking other jobs to survive.

“There are just too many jobs and not enough people to fill them”, says Steve. “We are really struggling for chefs and just finding bar staff in rural areas is difficult.”

It is not just the restaurant and bar staff that have been hit by COVID.

Many associated businesses in the hospitality supply chain like digital and design companies serving hotels and pubs have had to close for up to a year through lack of work.

Next week will be so important to our pubs, restaurants and hotels as they fully open up again.

I think we must do all we can to support these businesses, which are a vital part of the county’s economy.

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