Bank holiday boost but staff shortages bite

Although about 57m pints were served, 5m more – worth £22m – could have been sold if it were not for staffing issues, according to the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA).

The BBPA said as the school holidays drew to a close, pubs welcomed people to enjoy some sunshine and the longer weekend but a lack of staff meant revenues were likely to have dropped by around 8%.

Opening hours reduced​

A recent cross-industry survey conducted by trade bodies the BBPA, the British Institute of Innkeeping, Hospitality Ulster and UKHospitality, showed 61% of hospitality businesses are currently experiencing staff shortages, with 42% reducing opening hours on weekends due to a lack of team members.

For more than two years, hospitality has had the highest vacancy rate of any sector, with the most recent Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures showing the UK’s average vacancy rate is at 3.2% with hospitality almost two percent higher than that at 5.1%

With £1.6bn usually generated in tax for the Treasury across the whole of the summer season, the BBPA is calling on the Government to take action to solve the staffing crisis to allow pubs to unlock their full economic potential.

Held back​

BBPA chief executive Emma McClarkin said: “Our pubs support economies across the country and during the summer season they thrive on welcoming people from near and far but they are being held back by an ongoing staffing crisis.

“Businesses are taking initiatives to overcome these challenges through altering menus and shortening hours but, ultimately, this means they are not trading to full capacity and in turn that means lower sales and less revenue generated for the Treasury.

“We urgently need the Government to implement solutions to solve the staffing crisis by making changes to the youth mobility scheme and widening the Shortage Occupation List, because brilliant pubs thrive on brilliant people, and we need more of them to reach our full economic potential.”