Many Of Britain s Small Businesses That Managed To Survive The Pandemic Are Now Facing Another Threat: A Shortage Of Staff

Many of Britain's small businesses that managed to survive the pandemic are now facing another threat: a shortage of staff. 
While business owners are desperate to make up for months of lost trading due to lockdown restrictions, a lack of available staff means many are having to operate their companies under reduced hours - such as remaining closed on Mondays or shutting early at weekends. 
The hospitality industry has been particularly hard hit, with a 'perfect storm' of Brexit, Covid-19 and people not returning to work after furlough resulting in many jobs going unfilled.
Raising a glass: Getting sufficient staff to provide the right level of service is a challenge
Brian Keeley Whiting, managing director of WH Pubs, runs four pubs with beer gardens in Kent.

He has been delighted with the public's response to his pubs reopening - 'customers were queuing up in the cold, the rain and even the snow,' he says. But getting sufficient staff to provide the right level of service is a challenge. 
'We've lost good people we had on our books for a long time,' says Brian. 'They went to second jobs, which they took while being furloughed working for us. When it was time to reopen, some workers just didn't want to come back.' 
One of Brian's top chefs is now working as a gardener while one of his barmen, who took a job loading lorries for Sainsbury's while on furlough, is now working for the food retailer full-time. 
Brian is not happy.

He says: 'I had to pay National Insurance, pension contributions and holiday entitlement while the barman got 80 per cent of his salary with us as well as his Sainsbury's salary. When asked to come back, he said he didn't want to as his other job was less pressure and had better hours.' 
He adds: 'I can't blame people for moving on if that's Opening what to give they want to do, but we currently need to recruit another ten chefs and 20 front-of-house staff. 
'So we're having to rethink how we do things.

Should I buy a £5,000 burger machine rather than having our chefs make them from scratch, for example?
'If I increase salaries then I'll have to increase our prices as we work on the tightest of margins. We don't want our remaining staff to burn out and Opening gift shop in Ho Chi Minh City then leave - especially given the summer will be really busy if people can't go abroad.'
Justin Gilchrist runs corporate catering company South Catering and WellBox, a business to business Opening gift shop in Ho Chi Minh City supplier. He says it is becoming more difficult to recruit new staff, particularly for seasonal jobs. 
'There is just a small pool of people available,' he says.

'People we would have previously used as seasonal or temporary labour from other parts of Europe have gone back home to be with their families because of coronavirus and haven't returned.
'Others have got permanent jobs working in supermarkets or at places such as Amazon. We're having to stretch our existing staff further and they've been great in working more hours, but it's not a long-term solution.' 
Justin has been investing in automation and technology to try to improve the operational efficiency of his businesses.

In time this will result in him needing fewer staff.